An Unexpected Night
by Falcom
Summary: CHECK PROFILE FOR UPDATE! Au-ish Returning late from a mission,Shikamaru sees something he didn't want to see. Now,guilt-ridden though he couldn't have helped,he keeps the mentally-scared Neji with him in an attempt to repair the damage that had been done
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Eheh…I shouldn't have written this right now. XD But…the urge to write a ShikaNeji fic was way too strong and I couldn't ignore it. :sweatdrop: Since, you know, they're my favorite Yaoi couple in Naruto…:cheeky grin:

I hope they're IC as much as they possibly can be with this plot, but I know that they – Neji, especially – will be OOC for some of the story…which sucks 'coz I don't like making them OOC, but it had to be done to set…"stuff"…up. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sama does.

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**An Unexpected Night**

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_Prologue_

The night was cold, but not overly so. A light breeze blew by, causing goose bumps to claim their spot along his bare arms. The vest, thankfully, retained heat rather well, so the chill didn't bother him…_too_ much.

For now, at least, he was glad to be back in Konoha; the mission he had been on had taken far too long to complete and had him wanting to come home on the way _there_. Nodding towards Kotetsu and Izumo, who waved in response, he yawned widely and begun the trek towards the apartment he had gotten for himself right before being promoted to jounin those few years ago. (He had only entered the jounin exams to get Temari off his back, but there was _no way_ he'd tell the troublesome woman that; he didn't have a death wish after all.)

Silently he walked down the familiar roads that led to his apartment, his body running on autopilot from all those times he had arrived back during the night. Knowing full well that he was supposed to report back the instant he arrived in Konoha, Shikamaru sighed and figured that being chewed out – again – by Tsunade was preferable to waking the crazed woman in the middle of the night. (A horrible decision, he could assure you. The last time he had woken the hokage from her slumber he couldn't sleep for the next couple of weeks for fear of her coming and murdering him in his sleep.)

Quietly Shikamaru shifted his bag, his hand automatically reaching up to hold onto one of the straps that hung off the nylon sack. When he got home he'd take a quick shower, change into the clothes his mother washed (how she ever got into his _locked_ apartment when she didn't have a key, he had no idea), then go to bed for some much deserved shut eye. Maybe a quick snack before bed, but that was highly unlike–

A sound to his left, much like shouting that was trying to be kept quiet.

Shikamaru paused in his steps and quickly moved to the nearest wall to conceal his presence before he poked his head out to see what was going on. He could see four people in the distance, three of which were standing facing away from him, the fourth kneeling on the ground in front of the three, facing towards Shikamaru. At the distance he was at he couldn't quite decipher what it was the group was saying, but whatever it was it must've been pretty bad, if the continual sagging of the kneeling person's shoulders wasn't enough of an indication of that.

Silently he watched, suddenly apprehensive about what was going on in front of his eyes although he couldn't rightly justify the reason for such a feeling. His body tensed as the natural fight-or-flight reaction overcame him, which he forcefully beat down, his eyes unwavering from the goings on mere meters in front of him. Aside from not being able to really understand what the group was saying, he couldn't even figure out just _who_ the people were and why they were doing whatever it was that they were doing in the middle of the open street in the middle of the night. Unless…they didn't want people to know what they were doing. (Later he would attribute it to the fact that it had been dark and the moon had been in the "wrong" phase, but at the time he couldn't really think straight.)

Narrowing his eyes a little, Shikamaru quietly scurried to hide behind a large wooden pole that was a couple feet closer to the group, but was still at a far enough distance that he could watch without being spotted. Now at the distance he was at he could understand a word here and there, but otherwise he couldn't really figure out what they were saying.

"…disgrace…"

"...can't believe…"

"…you of all people…"

"…exiled…"

Shikamaru jerked back in surprise at the last word, before a strangled gasp came out of the kneeling person. He craned his neck for a better look, all the while the words "what am I doing? This is too damn troublesome…I can be at home sleeping instead of this…" ran through his racing mind. Before he knew it, it was over and the three people who were standing were walking away, leaving the person on the ground to lay there, his body twitching every so often, probably from the pain that had been inflicted upon him.

For a few moments Shikamaru watched the person on the ground in a strange sort of morbid fascination, then the thought of "are they really going to just leave him lying there? He could freeze to death" found him. It took a couple seconds for the implications to hit, before he sighed and took a hesitant step toward the person. Of _course_ they knew; and they had no reason to care, if they exiled him (which is what Shikamaru believed is what happened, if he had heard correctly).

Narrowing his eyes further, he thought about that. It didn't seem like the person was exiled from Konoha, since he was still in the village and the exile probably would've been publicly announced during the day; not done at night without anyone but themselves knowing. So that probably meant that it was a clan thing, but he had never heard of a clan member being kicked out. (Killed, sure. But kicked out? That was a little different). Whatever it was the person did, it must've been pretty bad; or their clan was that strict and powerful, and didn't tolerate anything done against them from anyone, especially their own members.

And it would make sense, too, if the clan member was still a vital part of the village for him to just be exiled and not killed…

With a start Shikamaru found himself just a couple feet away from the person, who now as just lying there in resigned defeat. His eyes quickly roved over the body, assessing the damage that might've been done. His brow creased in confusion as he could see no visible wounds on the person's body, and quickly went to flip the body over in case there were some on the person's chest that he couldn't see from the back. Gently, almost hesitantly, he brushed the long, dark hair away from the person's face as he lifted the body and immediately froze.

This…couldn't be. It _had_ to be someone else. He was one of the most loyal people Shikamaru knew, and would never do anything that would put him in a bad position with his clan. It was a mistake; he wasn't out there, half-laying on the ground, his upper half being propped up by Shikamaru's slack arms. He wasn't laying there, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth from a wound that Shikamaru couldn't see.

His hand shaking slightly, Shikamaru slowly reached down to grab the battered hitai-ate that lay on the ground next to the body. Unconsciously he ran this thumb over the symbol that marked him as a shinobi of Konoha before Shikamaru clenched his hand around the metal. He had no idea what had happened to have put the young man in this situation, and didn't have an inkling of an idea what the guy could've done to get him exiled from the clan he was so devoted to. All he knew was that he had to do _something_ with the unconscious body of Hyuuga Neji, and that his life just got infinitely more troublesome that it would've been had he just ignored the sounds of shouting in the first place.

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**A/N:** So…whatcha think? It's an alright length for a prologue…and I'm not even sure if I should continue it. XD Should I? I suppose this would be a teaser of sorts to see if anyone would be interested in more…or if I should just drop it and continue on with the thing I'm _supposed_ to be writing. XP

So…yeah. More? No more? Up to you!

**Read and review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yay! :) Thank you for the reviews, the favorites, and alerts! The chapters are going to be fairly long from here on out (at least, fairly long for me), so be ready to sit and read for a while! XD

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**An Unexpected Night**

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_Chapter One_

Shikamaru groaned softly as he pushed open the door to his apartment, his arms straining slightly against the dead weight that was the Hyuuga's limp body. (Although the boy was very effeminate in appearance, he by no means was light and delicate like a "normal" girl was; to be blunt, the Hyuuga was _heavy_). When they were a fair distance within the apartment, Shikamaru set down – well, okay, so it was more like _dropped_ – the Hyuuga and shut the door behind them; as an after-thought he turned the lock then faced the body that was now lying in the middle of his living room entrance.

_Now_ what was he supposed to do?

Shikamaru sighed as he carelessly threw his bag on a chair, and walked up to the Hyuuga's body. He couldn't very well leave the boy on the floor, a thought that made Shikamaru groan once more and mutter "troublesome" under his breath. Gently he lifted the boy off the ground and carried him bridal-style to the couch, where he carefully deposited the Hyuuga. Now that he was off the floor – therefore out of the way – Shikamaru could take a shower without having to have left the evidently injured guy in the middle of his hard-wood floor.

Yawning widely to himself, Shikamaru walked the short distance to his room and slipped off his shoes and vest, before turning toward his closet to grab a spare change of clothes for the night (times like these he was glad he had moved out; if he hadn't took off his shoes the _instant_ he had walked into the house before, his mother would've killed him. Repeatedly). Glancing once at the still unconscious jounin on his couch, he pushed open the door to his bathroom – which, conveniently, was connected to his room – and quietly closed it behind him, although he couldn't figure out why since the Hyuuga wasn't exactly conscious enough to wake up from the sound.

Once he was in the bathroom, he set his clean clothes down on the table and begun to methodically peel off his sweat-soaked ones, his face contorting into a grimace of disgust during the process (sometimes – well, okay, lots of times – he hated being jounin, since they had missions that involved much more than any chuunin or genin got during theirs, which meant the disgusting sweaty feeling also was amplified). When done with that, he turned to face his shower and turned on the water, adjusted it to the proper temperature, and stepped in; all the while trying to figure out just _what_ he was going to do with the unconscious Hyuuga on his couch.

A little more than half an hour later – which was actually a long shower for him, since being promoted to jounin – Shikamaru stepped out of the bathroom, clean clothes on and a towel in hand to dry his hair. For practically the whole time he had been in the water his thoughts had been on the Hyuuga, and what exactly had happened to him to get him exiled and put in such a state. But for the life of him he couldn't understand what the young genius could've done to have been betrayed by his clan, and then left in the middle of the street to rot for all they cared.

Sighing to himself, Shikamaru walked over to the spare chair he had, knocked his bag off the seat, and then sat; his hands working the towel through his damp hair, his eyes focused on the boy on his couch. Maybe there was something he missed earlier when he did a quick scan for injuries and saw nothing. Slowly his eyes roamed over the boy's body, taking in all the rips and tears in the white shirt and black, baggy hakama pants, and noting the lack of scraps on the exposed parts of his arms. So far nothing really seemed out of place…

When Shikamaru's eyes locked onto the Hyuuga's face, a sudden chill down his back made him stiffen. The mark on his forehead, normally covered by the hitai-ate which now was lying face down on the floor by his front door, was a dark brown, almost black, instead of the green that it normally was (he had only seen the mark once, and it hadn't even been on this particular Hyuuga member. It had been on a branch member's forehead that he had run into on his way to the hokage's office; even then he hadn't wanted to see it). But…what did that mean?

He didn't know too much about the Hyuuga family, except that they were split into two groups – the main family and branch family – and that branch members were branded with that mark across their forehead. Other than that, he really didn't know anything. Now, if only he could remember what the Hyuuga had said during his fight with Hinata those years ago during the chuunin exams…

Gah. This took more thought than Shikamaru wanted to put into it, _especially_ at this time of night (which, now, was probably really early morning). Yawning widely, he stood and slung the damp towel over the back of the chair and begun walking toward his room, his eyes lingering on the unwelcome, very much unconscious guest on his couch. Now that he had stepped into the Hyuuga's world by simply picking him up, Shikamaru wanted out. He had no idea what to do now with him, and found that to be the most troublesome thing of all.

--

"Shi-ka-ma-ru! Open up! I know you're in there!"

Shikamaru groaned and pulled his pillow over his head to block out Ino's shrill voice, which was followed immediately by violent pounding on his door. It was _way_ too early to be dealing with something like this…

"The hokage needs your report, Shikamaru! Hurry up or I'll break down your door and _drag_ you to her office!"

…She'd do it, too.

Sighing to himself in annoyance, Shikamaru threw his pillow to the side and habitually grabbed the tie for his hair before unwillingly slipping out of bed. A quickly cursory glance out the window told him that it was still fairly early in the morning, since what he could see of the sun wasn't very high above the horizon. It, to put it simply, was _too early_ for Ino to be at his door, regardless of the reason.

Muttering to himself about how, if he had wanted troublesome women waking him up early in the morning he would've stayed at home, he made his way out of his room to the living room, and paused in surprise before recalling what had happened just hours before (he had actually been hoping it had all just been a crazy dream, but alas…). The Hyuuga was still in the position he had been put in, testifying to the fact that he was probably still unconscious. So that meant that he's been under for what…? Five, six hours?

"Damn it, Shikamaru! I _know_ you're up!"

"I'm coming, you troublesome woman!" Shikamaru shouted back, his hands putting the tie to use before heading toward the door. Carelessly he kicked the hitai-ate lying on his floor under a desk, and opened the door just far enough for Ino to see him and not much else. "I need to get my shoes. Wait here."

Quickly, before his ex-teammate could respond, he shut the door; as an afterthought he locked it, knowing full well that if he hadn't, she'd barge in and see the seemingly lifeless Hyuuga on his couch: which was something he really didn't want to have to explain (never mind the fact that it was something he _couldn't_ explain). Ino's threat from minutes ago still fresh in his mind made him fetch his sandals quickly and returned to the door in such a short amount of time that it probably would've given his mother a heart attack to see him do something that was not ninja-related so fast; which was funny, since he was only practicing self-preservation techniques like he did when training as a shinobi. Opening the door once more, and being mindful of the "guest" he was housing, Shikamaru slipped out before Ino could see the inside. "Might as well as get this over with."

Just under ten minutes later, his ears ringing from the high-pitched sound that was Ino's non-stop chattering voice, he stepped into the hokage's office, a highly miffed Ino trailing behind. His steps faltered for a second when he saw all the members of rookie 9 – plus Lee, TenTen, and Sai, and minus one Uchiha – already in the office, before he groaned loudly and ran a hand through his hair. "A meeting? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

From behind him he heard a distinct growl and a "because you wouldn't _come_, and you'd just write it off as troublesome, then later ask for Chouji to tell you what happened!" from Ino, who was closing the door since everyone that was needed was already in the room. Fleetingly he wondered if the Hyuuga he was…_hiding_…was supposed to be there, but quickly dismissed that thought.

"We'll start, since Neji's not going to be here" – funny how he can call these sorts of things – "Something about clan duties he had to be present for."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the cover-up, his eyes turning to fall on the Hyuuga heiress. From the way she was wringing her hands and darting her gaze from wall to wall, and she wasn't _anywhere_ near Naruto, she evidently knew that it was a lie as well. But did she know what had actually happened to her cousin? Probably not, since she'd probably had done her best to keep it from happening, and she looked no different than she had the last time he'd seen her a couple of weeks ago. So what story were they feeding her, since she clearly knew _this_ was a lie too…?

"Nara Shikamaru! Are you even listening?"

Shikamaru "hmmm"ed and faked a yawn as he moved his gaze from Hinata to Tsunade, who was glaring quite dangerously at him from the other side of her desk. "If you hadn't called this meeting so early, it wouldn't have been so troublesome to pay attention."

The hokage glared at him for a few more seconds, evidently wanting to say something, before Sakura practically leapt at her to calm her down. "Shishou! It's how Shikamaru is, you know that! Can we just continue with the meeting?"

Tsunade clearly was struggling with the idea – apparently she really wanted to do _something_ to him – before she sighed and spoke again, annoyance still blaringly obvious in her tone. "I _asked_ if you were going to supervise the chuunin exams this year, since they're coming up and you don't have any scheduled missions during that time."

So the meeting had been about the chuunin exams? Man, what a pain. "Sure." He drawled, this time fighting a real yawn. "If that's all…"

"It's not, so stop whining." Tsunade glared at him again, and this time turned to address everyone in the room. "Since Neji's going to be out for a while for the clan business, is there anyone interested in taking up his duties? You guys already know what he does, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?"

Shikamaru unconsciously stiffened at the mention of the dead-to-the-world Hyuuga on his couch, and sighed when no one – except Lee who had tried to, but was stopped by TenTen saying that he had his own group to take care of – raised their hand to volunteer. Hesitantly he raised his hand, before he could figure out what he was doing. But by then it was too late to put it down; everyone had seen it.

"_You_ want to do it, Shikamaru?" Tsunade laughed softly, and added, "But I thought that working with a bunch of genin was "too troublesome". At least that's what you said when we were scouting for teachers!"

Shikamaru sighed, mentally wincing at the job he had just taken for the sake of…what? Why _did_ he choose to volunteer? She probably would've asked some of the other jounin around to do it…was it because he felt guilty for having done nothing to stop what he had been watching, and was trying to redeem himself in the eyes of someone who currently couldn't even see him doing it? He scrunched his brow in thought, before it hit him that she probably wanted a response from him. "It's better than just doing supervising things."

Tsunade laughed again, before trailing off to another person and asking about their participation in the chuunin exams. Unconsciously he blocked out her voice, trying to figure out _why_ he had just accepted a "mission" that he, on normal circumstances, would have been the first to _refuse_.

Could that have been it, then? Could he have felt guilty for not stopping something he probably couldn't have stopped anyway? But…that made no sense! Ugh, all this thinking was starting to hurt his head; it was _way_ too early for this…

--

About an hour later, after finishing up with the meeting and giving Tsunade his report, Shikamaru ambled out of the building, then paused in surprise when his eyes landed on Hinata, who was standing off to the side, seemingly waiting for someone. His mind going to the obvious, he said, "Waiting for Naruto?"

Hinata jumped slightly at his voice, and turned to him. "Shikamaru-kun! You startled me!"

The corner of Shikamaru's mouth lifted up a little in a half-smile, before repeating himself. "Waiting for Naruto?"

"N-no! I was actually…umm…" Hinata suddenly darted her gaze to the ground, cheeks coloring very slightly. "I was actually waiting for y-you…"

"…What?" Shikamaru blinked, at a complete loss at how he was supposed to respond. How…did she mean?

"I w-wanted to thank you for t-taking Neji-nii-san's t-team to teach, t-this close to the chuunin exams. He w-was going to enter them, s-so they really n-need to practice since i-it's really close to that time…" Hinata was stuttering, he noted. She normally didn't do that unless she was going to say something that was embarrassing; at least in her mind it was. "U-umm…n-nii-san's not…going to be around for a w-while, so w-what you did is very helpful. I'm s-sure it's because you d-don't want your friends to get into trouble t-that you couldn't prevent, r-right?"

Shikamaru stared at her, the reason dawning on him. Hinata was probably right; he clearly remembered what had happened on his first mission as a chuunin, and didn't want anything like that repeated if he could help it. "You're…probably right."

Hinata smiled in response, something he didn't see very often. "I'm sure that nii-san would thank you to, if he could!"

He jerked in surprise, momentarily thinking that she knew the truth, before mentally laughing at himself for such a reaction. _Of course_ she meant that he was "too busy" to thank him, so she was doing it for him. "Yeah, I'm sure he would too."

For more than one thing.

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**A/N:** 2,510 words. I'm proud of myself. XP

A few things you should know!

1. Although no one's pointed it out yet (since it's only been like, the prologue then this), I know someone will. The "the Hyuuga" stuff and not actually Neji's name. If you pay careful attention, it'll change to "Neji" in the future. There's a reason for it….:winks:

2. This fic'll be updated – hopefully – every week, give or take a couple days (like today, since I was actually supposed to post this on like, Thursday). So they'll be coming fast, and I hope I don't overload in the process. XD

3. For those who are curious, Neji's going to be waking up soon, but not next chapter.

Umm…I think that's all. If there's any questions, ask! I'll answer them to the best of my ability, unless that'd be spoiling for later events, which I can't have happen. :)

**Read and review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** oh wow, I never would've guessed that a spur of the moment fic would get this much support! :) Arigato, minna!

Thanks to Aarien-sama (x2), Sanee, Winterblazewolf (x2), Dark-Princess-Hikari (x2), Hanai-kun (x2), sonotgoingthere, digi-writer1392, reaper118, PittyMoraes, yaoi ad-ikt, and Priestess Catatonia for the reviews!

**An added disclaimer:** The extra characters (Neji's students) are mine, but their character designs are not. So their images belong to their respective owners.

Oh, um…there won't be very much of Neji in this chapter. XD More of his students than anything…

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**An Unexpected Night**

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_Chapter Two_

When Shikamaru returned to his apartment after splitting ways with the Hyuuga heiress, he came across the still unconscious Hyuuga male, which was, in all honesty, what he had been expecting to come home to. With a small sigh he shut the door behind him and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Was it sensible for the guy to still be unconscious, without any signs of waking up, for over a six, seven, maybe even eight hour time period? Or was he just being overly paranoid and needed to sit down for a bit?

Sighing again to himself, he strolled over to the kitchen after his stomach decided to make its plight known; it wanted feeding, and it wanted it _right now_. Mind not entirely on what he was grabbing (it looked suspiciously like curry, but in such a state of mind he couldn't be so sure), he thought about the job he had unceremoniously accepted, and resisted the urge to sigh a third time; so he settled for a groan instead.

Just _what_ had he been thinking to accept such an arrangement? Sure, it would only be for the week leading up to the chuunin exams, but still; he hated to be around genin, and knowing the Hyuuga's genin, they were probably over-the-top smartasses who had enough intelligence to back whatever they said up.

--

…Clearly he needed to rethink his supposition of the Hyuuga's genin, since they seemed to be _nothing_ like what he had thought they'd be like.

"And then! And then! Did you see that totally awesome flying kick? It was all like 'fwoosh!'"

"No way! It was _nothing_ like that! It was more like 'swoosh!'"

"You're _both_ wrong! It was like–"

Shikamaru groaned as he blocked the childish argument out, while trying his damnedest to ignore the sloppy kicks the trio were doing in clear imitation of the movie they had apparently seen together the day before, after their training with their sensei had ended. For the life of him he couldn't figure out how the stoic Hyuuga could _stand_ the three genin on his team, and hadn't yet snapped and "accidentally" killed them all in a training routine. Which, to be perfectly blunt, was something that he would have wanted for nothing else to do (but of course he wouldn't, since that would be such a troublesome thing to have to explain to the hokage _and_ the three kids' parents).

"Ne! Sensei! What's your name?"

Shikamaru slowly blinked down at the young girl standing before him, her bright – and very much innocent – blue eyes staring up at him in curiosity, her body tense in anticipation of his answer. Unconsciously he took note of her semi-long blonde hair that was held up in two pony tails and the Chinese-style clothes of varying shades of red, a small cherry blossom tree pattern climbing up one of the legs. Her hitai-ate was tied around her waist, immediately reminding him of Ino.

Mentally he shook his head and faked a yawn. "Nara Shikamaru. Yours?"

"Hiyashi Aimi, desu! Nice to meet you!"

…Oh, god. She even raised her hand as she spoke. Just _what_ kind of girl did the Hyuuga have to put up with?

Silently he sighed, and forced a smile. "Domo."

Apparently satisfied with his response, the girl giggled softly and skipped off to rejoin her teammates, probably to tell them his name. Sighing once more he picked himself off of the patch of grass he had made himself comfortable on, and lazily strolled over to the trio. Quickly he scanned the other two, who were staring at him in what appeared to be a mix of suspicion and awe; for what reason he wasn't entirely sure of, since he was certain that he hadn't done anything "amazing" lately.

One of the boys was wearing brown shorts that ended at about mid-knee, and a shirt that was a mix of blue and white with little flaps on the front and back that ended farther down than the actual bottom of the shirt did. His wrists were bandaged, and on one had he wore a glove; for what reason, he wasn't sure of (again something he didn't have the answer to). His hitai-ate was around his forehead, as was custom, in what seemed to be an effort to hold back his messy brown hair, but instead was worn backward with no excess strap hanging down; meaning he had probably cut it off and decided to just clip the ends together. His eyes were a curious shade of violet that he had only seen on Hinata, even though the boy clearly wasn't a member of the Hyuuga clan.

The other boy was dressed in clothes that Shikamaru couldn't quite figure out what the origin was, and decided not to think about it. His shirt was long-sleeved and deep purple in color, with a crimson, silk-looking vest over it. His pants were black and ended just above the boy's ankles, revealing that both of his ankles were bandaged like the other boy's wrists were. His hitai-ate was also tied around his forehead, but didn't seem there to hold back his long red hair; a hair tie was already doing that job. His eyes, which were currently appraising Shikamaru quite heartily, were a dark shade of blue; the complete opposite end of the spectrum compared to Aimi's.

When the two boys appeared to be done assessing his worth, Shikamaru held in a sigh and said, "Your normal sensei's out, as I'm sure the hokage's already told you. I'm going to be replacing him for the time being. To start off, knowing each other's names would be helpful." (He couldn't believe he was actually _doing_ this! And without complaint! There must've been something in that curry he had eaten earlier…quickly he made a mental note to check what he was eating before he ate it in case of some foreign _thing_ going into his body to make him act uncharacteristically. Like now.) Continuing on, he said, "I already know Aimi, but you two…"

"Arakaki Hiroshi."

Shikamaru nodded at the brown-haired boy, before turning expectant eyes on the red-head. Silently he raised an eyebrow, before the boy sighed and spoke.

"Takahashi Keiichi. Don't expect me to accept you in place of Neji-sensei."

…Well. That name certainly didn't fit the boy at all.

Mentally Shikamaru smirked; he didn't really expect himself to accept the boy – or his teammates – by the end of week, so whether the kid accepted him or not really didn't matter to him one bit. "So…what has your sensei been doing with you so far?" Three equally blank faces answered him, causing Shikamaru to sigh and mutter "What a pain…" before restating what he had said. "How about this: you three spar, so I can see what I can help" – he cringed as he said that "vile" word – "you with before the chuunin exams."

The three genin nodded in unison, before rushing off to a spot a little ways away so they were directly in the center of the open field. When all three were in place, and looking like they were waiting for a signal to begin, Shikamaru sighed once again and said, "Begin!" in as loud of a voice as he was willing to do; which, honestly, hadn't really been all that loud.

For a few moments he wondered if their performance in an actual fighting situation would be like their mock-fight from before, therefore making him wonder just _what_ Hinata's cousin had been thinking to even _think_ his genin were ready for the chuunin exams, before he widened his eyes in surprise.

They were…good. Somehow it seemed like the Hyuuga had gotten lucky and had got a team of prodigies; there was simply no other way he could explain the phenomenon that was the three genin who were fighting in front of him like they were already chuunin rank going out for the jounin test instead of a group of brats who had yet to even _take _the chuunin exam.

After watching for a little over ten minutes – in which he discovered that Aimi was the best at taijutsu and weaponry, Hiroshi being the best at ninjutsu, and Keiichi simply being the best overall – Shikamaru called the three to a halt, and motioned for them to return to him. When they gathered in front of him, all breathing heavily, he couldn't help but ask, "From what I've seen, you three are amazingly good at what you do. So how much did…Neji" – the name felt weird coming from his mouth, and he couldn't help but scrunch his brow at the foreign word – "teach you three?"

When no one spoke, Hiroshi grinned and said, "Lots of stuff! You wouldn't think it from before, but Aimi here was the worst of all of us at taijutsu, and she hardly even knew how to even _hold_ a shuriken! Sensei's amazing!"

…If that was the truth, he could concede that much at the very least. Shikamaru thought for a moment, and then asked another question. "How about you?"

Grinning sheepishly, Hiroshi glanced down at the patch of dirt below his feet. "Before sensei, I couldn't even really make a simple clone of myself; Iruka-sensei used to get reaaaally frustrated at me for that."

Shikamaru "hmmm"ed in response, before he turned his gaze to Keiichi, who was staring at him in an evident challenge. Without having to ask he knew that the boy was already a natural at taijutsu, ninjutsu, and probably even genjutsu, and was expecting for Shikamaru to question him about it. Allowing a tiny smirk to emerge he said, "And I assume the Hyuuga helped you hone your technique, since you obviously already knew everything."

The boy smirked in response, and chose to remain quiet.

After a few second's stare down, Shikamaru faked another yawn and latched his hands together behind his head. "Well, whatever. You're free to do whatever you want, since I don't have anything to help you with. Just don't bother me."

A chorus of "Hai!" rang in his ears as he laid himself down on the grass, his eyes closing of their own will. Although they were slightly annoying, the Hyuuga's genin weren't…_too_ bad; he was glad for the fact that the boy had enough knowledge and patience in him to train the three to the point that they were at, so he wouldn't have to have too much contact with them.

A little over an hour later Shikamaru found himself sitting up with a yawn, his body completely relaxed from the nap he had taken. Blearily he looked around him while trying to come up with a reason as to why he was napping in an unfamiliar napping location, before remembering that he was "teaching" the Hyuuga's genin. Quickly he glanced around, all the while muttering about how troublesome it was to have to get up for them, before his ears picked up the sounds of giggling from behind him. Lazily he turned to face the sound, and found that the three had decided that it was their duty to watch him sleep; if their positions against the tree behind him didn't tell him enough about how long they had been there.

Groaning softly to himself he stood and dusted of the back of his pants before he lazily motioned towards the three with his hand. "Practice's over; you can go home now."

Two identical grins brightened Aimi and Hiroshi's expressions, while a tamer half-smile found its way onto Keiichi's. Quickly the trio gathered their things before running past him towards the village, shouting "Arigato, Shika-sensei!" over their shoulders; at least, Aimi and Hiroshi did.

Uncaringly Shikamaru glanced down at the red-head who was standing next to him, his brown bag slung carelessly over his shoulder, his gaze locked onto the backs of his teammates. For a few moments he stared at the boy, who stared off into the distance, before he sighed and began walking. Lazily he scratched his head and muttered just loud enough for the boy to hear, "Stay here if you want. It'd be too troublesome for me to wait here for you to leave."

Keiichi merely "hmph"ed in response, before he turned away from the direction the village was in and begun walking without a word of goodbye of his own.

--

When Shikamaru arrived back at his apartment, he groaned loudly as he closed the door behind him. Immediately his eyes sought out the Hyuuga, still unconscious, before muttering, "I don't know what you did with your team, Hyuuga, but they're more troublesome _now_ than if you hadn't done whatever it was you did with them. Although it does have its perks…"

Sighing, Shikamaru made his way to the kitchen, fully intent on getting himself something to drink from the fridge. After doing so, he glanced at the clock and sighed again, before deciding that taking a nap would be the best thing, since he didn't have anything better to do and it was only nearing ten in the morning.

_Two days passed on in this way, and Shikamaru couldn't help but feel that it'd be that way for days to come. What he couldn't expect was that by the time he'd return from the next "training" time with the Hyuuga's genin, said Hyuuga would be awake on his couch, his eyes blank; as if his very world had been torn away from him and he had nothing left for him to live for._

--

**A/N:** Neji's students are going to be playing a bigger role as the story progresses, so I figured that right now was as good as any time to introduce them to you. :)

It was a little shorter than the last one, but still a little longer than I normally make my chapters out to be. :)

And…the updates'll be coming a _lot_ quicker than once a week. More like every three days. XD I'll try every Saturday and Wednesday, but we'll see. :) I _do_ want to give people time to review each chapter before posting the next after all.

Translation Notes:

Domo – basically means likewise.

Keiichi – respectful firstborn son

**Read and review!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Okay, so this was a day late. But it wasn't my fault! It sucks sometimes being the child of an apartment manager, since we "children" are always being employed to clean the places. Xx;

Thanks to yaoiad-ikt, ichigo ando-hime, reaper118, Hanai-kun, Winterblazewolf, Hawkwing, Dark-Princess-Hikari, and shinidanie for the reviews! Much love to you guys! :)

Annnd…this chapter is the longest chapter I've ever written, and coincidentally is the most important! Enjoy!

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Three_

_The ground below him was cold and rocky; very much an uncomfortable thing to kneel upon. But he wasn't going to complain; to do so would be a stupid move, especially in the situation he was currently in._

_He hadn't even an inkling of an idea as to why he was there in the middle of the street; head bowed, body unwillingly relaxed._

_No; that was a lie. He knew _perfectly well_ why he was there, and what was to come. He had made that choice those years ago that led him here, and now couldn't even say if it had been worth it; if someone else's happiness was worth his death._

_Slowly he raised his head and set blank eyes on the figure of his uncle, and just beyond him the two elders that he had brought with him as witnesses to what would come. They all knew what that would be; they all were waiting for the release from the burden that was he._

"_I have forgiven you time and time again for the events the past couple of years that defied clan policy." – his uncle started, eyes locked onto his own – "I have even written them off, time and time again, as you simply growing up and wanting to assert your opinion among a group of individuals who are superior to yourself. But that leniency I have shown toward you must come to an end, and you must accept the punishment that is most fitting for you. Do you have anything to say, nephew?"_

_Neji weakly shook his head, knowing full well that whatever he said in his defense probably would just be used against him; if not by his uncle, then by the two elders that accompanied him. So instead he settled for hanging his head once more, his body radiating the shame he felt._

"_So you have nothing to say, eh? A wise choice among all of the foolish decisions you have made to land you here."_

_Neji simply nodded in agreement, not entirely sure if he truly agreed with that statement or his previous thoughts about someone else's happiness not being worth his death. It was _her_ happiness; and above all else, _that_ is what mattered the most._

_Next he heard the raspy voice of one of the elders, but refused to look up to see which one was speaking; they probably would've scolded him – again – if he had done so. "You, Hyuuga Neji, directly related to our clan's leader, are a disgrace to this family! I still can't believe that you, who had shown much promise, had turned right around and betrayed the very clan that allowed you to live within the family as a protector of your cousin and the current heir, Hinata!"_

_The woman had hardly begun to get through what she had been trying to say before the other elder interjected with, "I can hardly believe that on this night we will have to do such a thing to you of all people! Under normal circumstances we would eliminate you for your betrayal, but seeing as you are still a vital part of the village's ninja system, we can hardly do that; that would be punishment for far more than just yourself. So instead we shall do the next best thing; you, Hyuuga Neji, are hereby exiled from the Hyuuga clan!"_

_Neji's eyes widened in shock before a shearing pain spread from his head to the rest of his body. Quickly he bit his lip, all the while trying to fight off the scream of pain that was tearing at his throat. He would _not_ give them the satisfaction of hearing him scream from the pain; he would show them that he was still strong, regardless of what they decided to do with him!_

_A pained gasp found its way through his lips as he fell to the ground, his body limp from trying to battle the pain which he knew would overcome him; if the torture hadn't stopped immediately after, he knew that his valiant fight at not giving them the satisfaction of seeing him hurt would have crumbled and the urge to scream would have taken over._

_Black spots began to take over his vision as a sandaled foot came into view, before a bent knee replaced it. He could barely hear the words that were being said to him, and if he had been in better shape he probably would've scoffed. But no; scoffing at that moment was too cumbersome, and in all actuality would've probably caused the torture to resume._

_How was he supposed to honor those words that his uncle had spoken? How did Hiashi honesty expect him to never have contact with his cousin – or any other member of the clan, for that matter – and still remain in the village? Or…was that it? Did they expect for him to die, and if on the off-chance he lived he was to not have any contact with the clan he had been exiled away from?_

_Their next words confirmed his suspicions; the quiet, haunted way they were spoken would be kept with him forever._

"_Live, if you will Neji. But I assure you: every moment you are alive you will regret, and wish for death more than you could ever wish for anything."_

_As consciousness began to leave him, he fervently wished that he could respond to the highly blasé comment and cursed his luck as he knew that he could not. The foot left his view, opening up the area to what he could see beyond him. Expecting to be alone in his last moments – as he did not expect to regain consciousness after this – the figure off in the distance surprised him; but nothing could be done as his vision darkened, and his mind emptied._

_--_

Shikamaru yawned as he sat up, his eyes automatically seeking out the three genin he was temporarily in charge of. They, for once, were off in the distance training instead of watching him sleep from behind, which had really started to get annoying. Just above them he could see the sun, which was barely starting to reach about eleven in the morning.

Shikamaru sighed as he stood, figuring those two hours of training were good enough; if they felt like training any more, they could do _that_ on their own. Carelessly he waved the group over, and waited a few seconds while they took their time – at least to him – in seeing his hand and coming over to him. When they stopped in front of him, in exact replication of the first time he had called them over, he yawned again and turned away from them slightly so his body was facing the village. "We're done here, so do what you want."

The "Hai, Shika-sensei!" that immediately followed after wasn't as enthusiastic as it normally was, and Shikamaru sent the trio a slightly suspicious look before he shrugged and began walking away, not caring that the three genin weren't following him like they normally did.

When Shikamaru was a far enough distance away so he couldn't hear them, Aimi turned toward her teammates and grinned mischievously. Motioning that they should huddle, she whispered, "I think Shika-sensei has a girlfriend! That's why he always cuts the training short!"

Keiichi scoffed, and looked away. "A guy like that? I doubt it."

"What?" Aimi looked at Keiichi curiously, before a smirk slowly made its way onto her face. "Wanna bet?"

Hiroshi, upon hearing the word 'bet', perked up, eyes sparkling. "How much?"

"How about unlimited barbeque for a whole week?"

"A week, eh? I'm in." Hiroshi grinned, a smirk of his own tugging at the corner of his lips. "Since you're betting that he's got a girlfriend, and Kei here's probably betting he doesn't, I bet he has a _boy_friend."

A choked laugh slipped out of Aimi's mouth, as her smirk widened. Quickly she held out her hand and waited for the other to do the same before saying, "Alright! It's settled then! Whoever loses has to buy the other two unlimited barbeque for a week!"

"Wait. One of us could always lie, or see something that wasn't necessarily the truth. I think another rule should be added." Keiichi said, and paused a moment as the other two in the group turned curious eyes to him. "For it to count, I think that we all should be together when watching him and need to see more than just sitting and talking, since friends do that sort of thing all the time."

"So they need to do what, kiss?" Hiroshi blinked as Keiichi nodded slightly, before his smirk turned into a grin. "I'll agree to that!"

"So we gonna follow Shika-sensei now? It's the perfect time to start!" Aimi suggested as she turned to watch Shikamaru's rapidly disappearing back. "If we are, we'd better hurry before he gets out of sight!" When the other two nodded, she added, "Yosh, ikuzo!"

--

Shikamaru groaned softly as he paused in front of the door to his apartment. Something didn't feel quite right, and he couldn't put his finger on it. Slowly he turned his head around; not taking note of the three heads that quickly ducked behind the corner, and sighed when he saw nothing out of the ordinary. So if that wasn't it, what was?

Shrugging slightly he inserted the key into his door and gently pushed it open, a yawn slipping out as his foot hit the tile floor. Seeing as his gaze was on the ground rather than facing forward, he didn't notice the 'thing' that was out of the ordinary until he had closed the door behind him and looked up.

For a moment his breath lodged in his throat, his eyes widening in shock. The lifeless eyes that greeted him definitely wasn't something he had been expecting, and could only stare right back as his hand slid off the doorknob and bumped lightly against his side. When the initial shock wore off, Shikamaru hesitantly walked farther into his apartment, and noticed with interest that the Hyuuga hadn't actually been staring at him, since the guy's eyes were still focused on that point off in the distance that couldn't be seen.

Sighing to himself, he willed his heart to stop beating so fast before he swiftly made his way to the kitchen, if only to think about the current situation he had on his hands. He knew that eventually this day would come, but now that it had, he had no idea what to do! He wasn't exactly skilled in dealing with patients who had just woken up from unconsciousness and now was sitting there in a stupor!

Shikamaru groaned as he leaned against the wall, his mind racing. He could always go find a book about it and learn what to do on his own, but that would be a pain and would probably end up taking a lot more time to learn than it would to just get someone into his apartment to do a check for him. But whom could he ask, who wouldn't tell others about it and would do it without any questions asked?

When it hit him, he turned the corner to the living room and allowed his eyes to linger on the seemingly frozen form of the Hyuuga. He didn't really want to leave the guy there alone, since he didn't know what he would do when he got out of his daze, and didn't really want to deal with the repercussions should the Hyuuga make an unwise decision. But…

"I'll be back. Just…keep doing what you're doing." Shikamaru muttered as he made his way to the door, glanced back once and saw that what he had said hadn't earned him a reaction of any sort from the Hyuuga, and sighed as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. He had to get to the hospital as quickly as was possible and return before the paranoia that the guy might do something to himself or to the apartment ate at him too much.

--

Off a little ways from where Shikamaru was walking faster than he had ever walked before, whispered voices could be heard.

"Where's Shika-sensei going now?"

"I dunno. Maybe to meet his boy?"

"His _girl_, you mean."

"Or he's just going out shopping. People can do that without having any other motive, you know."

"Oh, shut up Kei. You're just saying that 'coz you wanna win, too."

--

When Shikamaru stepped into the hospital lobby, he was lucky enough to see the disappearing back of the person he had gone there for. Quickly speeding up so he could catch up to her, he thought of a way to explain himself to her so she would follow him and had barely managed to come up with one as he came to a stop behind her. "Sakura, wait!"

Sakura turned to face him, a clipboard held loosely against her chest, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. "Shikamaru? What is it? And…why do you look like you ran all the way here?"

"I need you to come with me." When Sakura raised an eyebrow, Shikamaru groaned and realized how _strange_ that sounded coming from him. So instead he said, "There's someone that I…need help with. I would've done it on my own, but it was too troublesome to teach myself…"

…And now, she was looking at him strangely. Great.

"Sakura…can you just come with me _without_ looking at me like that?"

Sakura smiled wryly, before she sighed. "I'll come on my break, since it's in about five minutes anyway. Can you wait?"

Shikamaru nodded. "It's a pain, but sure. I can wait, but I'm not sure if _he_ can…"

Sakura merely raised an eyebrow again, before she shrugged and continued on her way again, a hand brought up in a half wave as she said, "I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I'll see you in a few!"

Shikamaru smiled tightly as he watched her walk off, before he turned to go back to the entrance to the hospital. He could spare five minutes…right? It's not like the Hyuuga'd do anything _too_ damaging in the short time he'd been gone (assuming he did anything at all), right?

When Shikamaru got outside, he made himself comfortable against a wall and folded his arms across his chest, his head tilting back so he could follow the few visible clouds with unusually anxious eyes. Five minutes. It was only five minutes. Nothing to angst over.

Quietly he let out a shaky sigh, oddly finding his reaction to the current situation funny; normally he wouldn't be like this.

_It was only because it was _Neji_ that he was acting like this…_

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly at the thought, and shook his head slowly to rid himself of it. Okay, so the voice might've been half right, since he admittedly didn't want to see his friends, and not-so-friends like the Hyuuga, in the same kind of situation from his chuunin days, like Hinata had suggested. No underlying reason was there! (He couldn't believe he was actually _having_ this strange not-conversation with himself! Underlying meaning? Of course not! He didn't even _know_ the guy well enough for that!)

Shikamaru groaned to himself and brought a hand up to cradle his forehead in. He had just implied, to himself, that there _may_ be an underlying meaning when he _knew_ the Hyuuga well enough. Clearly, he needed to stop having not-conversations with himself. Sighing, he muttered "troublesome" and almost jerked in surprise when he saw that Sakura was standing next to him, a curious expression on her face.

"Hey, Shikamaru? You okay?"

Her voice was more amusement than concern, making him turn away from her and motion for her to follow. Silently she did, her eyebrow still raised in curiosity, especially at his lack of response.

--

Again, not too far away from Shikamaru, and now Sakura, a group of voices could be heard.

"I _told_ you it's a girl! I'm gonna win!"

"You have no proof of that! They still have to do something besides walk together, like Kei said!"

"…I think that's Haruno-san. I doubt that she'd date Nara-sensei."

"Nara-sensei? Kei, aren't you being to, y'know, formal? Why not call 'im Shika-sensei? Or is it 'coz Neji-sensei said that– ow! What was that for?!"

"…You talk too much."

--

When they reached his apartment, Shikamaru paused in front of the door and turned to face Sakura, who hadn't lessened her look of curiosity. He knew that he would have to explain at least _a little_ of what she was going to come across, so she wouldn't ask too many questions later. Taking in a deep breath, he started, "So, Sakura. This is too much of a pain to explain fully, so I'll give you the short version. The Hyuu– Neji's in my house, and I need you to check him over to see if he's alright."

"You– what?" Sakura blinked, her face going slack at the sudden information she had been given. "Isn't Neji at the Hyuuga compound doing clan things? So…why's he in your apartment, and why does he need _my_ help?"

"Damn…" Shikamaru muttered to himself, before he sighed. "I found him a couple days ago unconscious in the middle of the street and I didn't want to send him back to the compound since it would look suspicious." (Okay, so not exactly the truth, but not exactly a _complete_ lie either. The truth was _much_ more troublesome, after all.)

"Do you know what happened?"

"…No. I was just walking by after I returned from a mission." (That had more truth to it than his previous statement had…)

Sakura stared at him a few more seconds before she sighed. "…Fine. I can see that there're some things you don't want to say, so I won't ask you about it. For now."

Shikamaru ignored her words as he slowly unlocked the door and eased it open, before he stepped inside; Sakura doing the same immediately after. His paranoia had been unfounded, since the Hyuuga was still on his couch, eyes locked onto the same something-but-nothing as before. Sighing, he turned to face Sakura and said, "He's been like this since I came back from being with his troublesome genin. I don't know how long before then he 'woke up'."

"I see…" Sakura responded, slightly distracted as her medic side took over. "First we should probably move him somewhere more comfortable, so the transition from being catatonic to regular functioning won't be too much of a shock for him."

Shikamaru nodded and helped her move the limp Hyuuga to his room, where they gently set him down on the edge of the bed. After that Sakura went to work; he watched as she checked his pulse and body temperature, then the reactivity of his eyes, which, expectedly, weren't really all that reactive to her stimulation.

When a little over ten minutes passed by, and Shikamaru was fighting the urge to yawn, Sakura stood away from the boy and sighed. "Physically he looks fine, except the…" – she paused and glanced at Neji's forehead, before continuing on – "mark on his head, which resembles a burn mark; like someone seared another mark over the one he had, in the same was as it was before. I'm not really sure what that means, but…whatever had been done to him to make him like this was probably caused by that."

Sakura begun heading out of the room, like she really knew where she was going, and paused in the middle of the doorway. "If you're keeping him here until he gets well enough, there are some things you're going to have to do to ensure that his recovery is stable and full." She turned her gaze to him, and locked her eyes with his; expression completely serious. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not something that can be done half-heartedly you know."

Shikamaru had to think for only a moment before he nodded. "I owe it to Hinata. She clearly cares about her troublesome cousin and she's already put her faith in me anyway with the Hyuuga's genin."

Sakura smiled softly, before saying "alright" and going to the couch to sit down, and motioned for Shikamaru to do the same. "So I guess I'll tell you what you need to do for the next couple of days, maybe next couple of weeks depending on how long it takes him to recover."

--

Keiichi sighed to himself as he resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. His teammates were currently crowded at their temporary sensei's window, spying on him and his guest, who were sitting on the couch having an important conversation; at least it looked that way to him. He, personally, didn't really care to know if their sensei had a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, and didn't really see the need – or importance – of such information. All he wanted to know was why Neji-sensei said that–

"Hey, Kei! Don't you wanna look too?"

Keiichi glanced at Hiroshi, before sighing again and shaking his head. He was perfectly fine on his rock where he was, thank-you-very-much. His interests in Nara-sensei were only in the part that Neji-sensei had spoken of, and he had yet to see any proof that what his normal sensei had said about "Shika-sensei" was true; all he's seen so far was that the guy was lazy beyond belief and seemed to genuinely not really care about anything at all. But, if what Neji-sensei had said was true, then "Shika-sensei" was far more interesting than the guy let on…

--

"So let me get this straight. You expect me to _give_ the Hyuu– Neji a shower, cook for him, and just overall be at his beck and call." Shikamaru's mood was borderline annoyed, which was a new one. "Can't you do that? With the chuunin exams, it'd be too much of a pain to keep a watch on him, watch his genin, and supervise the groups of incoming genin and teachers from different countries all at the same time."

Sakura shrugged, and stood. "Hey, you're the one who brought him into your house and didn't just take him back to the Hyuugas. He's _your_ responsibility now, Shikamaru. I'll stop by once a week to see how he's doing though, if you want."

Shikamaru groaned, and conceded to her conditions with a barely noticeable nod of his head. He _did_ bring the Hyuuga into his house when he could've just left him there for someone else to find…well, okay, he couldn't have done that; his pride wouldn't have let him. But still, it was fun to fantasize about being free of the "freeloader" he now was housing…

"Well, if that's all, I should be getting back to the hospital. My shift's gonna start in about fifteen minutes, and I don't want to get any of the other residents mad at me for being late." Sakura turned toward the window, and barely missed the two heads that ducked down out of her view. For a few moments she just stood there and stared, before sighing. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nodded, and watched as she walked over to the door and opened it. Instead of stepping out like he had expected her to, he blinked in confusion when she bent down and apparently picked something up, before turning to him. In her hands was a messenger bird with a scroll tied around its leg.

"This looks like shishou's bird." Sakura lifted the scroll to see who it was addressed to, then held the bird out to him. "It's for you."

Shikamaru took the bird and gently took the scroll from the tie on its leg. Carelessly he unwound it and begun to read out loud. " 'Nara Shikamaru: I need you to come to my office immediately. There are some things I need to discuss with you about the chuunin exams. Tsunade.' " Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in curiosity before he finished with, " 'P.S. Sakura, forget about going back to the hospital. I need to talk to you as well.' That troublesome woman knew you were here?"

"I guess so." Sakura shrugged again, as the bird flew from Shikamaru's arm to land on her shoulder. "We'd better get going, then. You know how shishou is when people make her wait."

--

The meeting with Tsunade had gone roughly as he had expected, with him being assigned to be at the beck and call of the Suna instructors while some poor, unsuspecting chuunin was in charge of the Suna genin. He was supposed to meet them at the village gates so he could take the instructors – and incidentally the kazekage as well – to their temporary residents then bring them to her so they could get their genin registered and in the books. But before all that, Shikamaru was supposed to finish up some paperwork on the Suna genin that had been left undone (he suspected that Tsunade had just pushed them aside like she did with everything else, and now was making him do it since he had denied all missions while "training" the Hyuuga's genin and supervising the chuunin exams) about their teams, strengths, weaknesses, and instructors.

Shikamaru groaned as he pushed open the door to his apartment with his back, his arms full of folders with loose papers hanging out of it. How as he supposed to do all of _this_, with the Hyuuga to watch as well? It was more work that he had to do than all the work he's had to do since being promoted to jounin combined!

Carelessly he dropped the folders on the couch before heading toward the kitchen to make dinner for Neji, since he had long since lost his appetite. He had no idea what the Hyuuga liked and didn't like, so he just shrugged and figured that there was plenty of time for him to figure that out. Sighing, he grabbed the quickest thing he could make – instant ramen that Naruto had given him in bulk a couple weeks ago – and put it on the counter to read the instructions. Quickly he put up the pot of water so it could boil, and made his way to his room to check up on the Hyuuga.

When he got there, he noticed that the Hyuuga wasn't – or seemed like he wasn't – catatonic anymore, and was propped up against the wall, his back resting against Shikamaru's off-white pillows. His eyes had been closed until Shikamaru had stepped into the room, and now were trained on him, no sign of surprise anywhere. Sighing, Shikamaru awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said, "Dinner's going to be ready in a few; I hope ramen's good enough, since it was the first thing I grabbed."

Neji merely nodded in response, and closed his eyes once more, a sigh easing its way past his lips.

Shikamaru stood there a few moments more before he made his way back to the kitchen, the shear strangeness of the situation eating away at him. It wasn't…bad. He could handle the Hyuuga if he stayed like this and didn't _do_ anything.

When he got back into the kitchen he opened the ramen package, grabbed the pot of water, and poured it into the small container to the mark then set the pot back down on the stove. He then closed the paper lid on the ramen container and set a small book on top to keep it from opening, and leaned his back against the counter to collect his thoughts.

For the next week he was going to be unbelievably busy with the Suna crowd, the chuunin exams, the Hyuuga's genin, and the Hyuuga himself. When the chuunin exams were over, that would be killing three birds with one stone, but he'd still have the Hyuuga to watch, which by then wouldn't be too hard since all Shikamaru'd have to do would be the occasional mission that he was assigned on; so that part of the problem he wouldn't have to focus much energy on. But how he was supposed to juggle the Hyuuga's genin _and_ taking the Suna crowd around town at the same time was a bigger mystery than he had to find a solution to by tomorrow, which was a pain.

When his internal clock told him that the ramen was done, he took the book off the container and grabbed a pair of chopsticks for the Hyuuga to eat with. Languidly he strolled back into his room and walked up to the bed, and held out the eating utensil and the food for Neji to take. "Here. I'm going to set out some clothes for you, so you can take a shower when you're done." He didn't wait for an answer as he walked over to his closet and carelessly pulled out the blue, civilian shirt that he had for casual times and a pair of baggy, dark green pants which he had completely forgotten he had. Carelessly he threw them on the edge of the bed and pointed toward the door leading to the bathroom. "Shower's that way. If there's anything you need, Hyuuga, I'll be in the living room."

For a few seconds Neji didn't say anything, and just stared down at the ramen in his hands. Just as Shikamaru was walking out of the room, he looked up and said, "Don't call me that."

Shikamaru paused and blinked in surprise, before he turned to face Neji. "Call you what?"

"I'm not…a Hyuuga anymore. It's Neji."

Oh, right. How could he forget _that_?

Sighing, Shikamaru nodded and continued on his way out of the room. Okay, so, maybe he had been wrong about something. Just maybe Neji would be more troublesome to watch over than the others, since he _did_ live with him for now…

Slowly he made his way to the couch and gathered the folders, before opening one of them and taking the papers out. He might as well as get some work done, since Neji "stole" his room and he had nothing better to do anyway.

--

**A/N:** 5,052 words. That's like, twice as long as the other chapters. xD

A lot did happen in this chapter, so it went kinda quickly with information and such. It'll slow a bit now, but it's still gonna go fast pace to get past the chuunin exams. :Winks:

**Read and review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** me sorry for the double-late release, since I missed both Wednesday and Saturday! It just kind of…happened. Xx;

Annnnd…so many good questions that I can't answer, 'coz that'd be giving too much information away! XD And a few inquiries of sorts that made me laugh, 'coz I know the answer to 'em too, but I can't say. xP

Thanks to yaoiad-ikt, BrevityofWit, Hawkwing, Dark-Princess-Hikari, Aarien-sama, Winterblazewolf, Hanai-kun, and shinidanie for the reviews!

A quick answer:

For those who couldn't quite understand what happened to get Neji exiled and are kind of confused about the Neji part in the beginning of last chapter, **it did its job**! It was _supposed_ to confuse you, or get you more curious about what he did! :) It hasn't been explained yet, so keep reading!

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Four_

The next morning Shikamaru woke with a crick in his neck and in a highly uncomfortable position on his couch, wrinkled papers strewn around him in an unorganized fashion. Yawning widely, he stretched and stood, then reached up to massage his aching neck. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped it was still early enough for him to shower and get ready before he had to leave to meet the group from Suna, and pick up Neji's genin along the way.

Neji. Funny how he had so easily reverted back to calling him that, even in his head (he had actually begun to call him "Hyuuga" because of the distance that had been brought between them the past few years, and had just fallen out of calling him Neji; so the next time he called the Hyuuga "Neji", it felt weird and he just called him "the Hyuuga", or just "Hyuuga" to curb that uncomfortable-ness). Sure, right now he'd _never_ go back to calling Neji "Hyuuga", since it would be an even _more_ constant reminder of the clan that had ridded itself of him, and Shikamaru was pretty sure that Neji wasn't anywhere near ready to pass that hurdle in life and be ready for times to come.

Sighing low to himself, Shikamaru bent down to gather the papers that had fallen to the floor and to organize the papers that were still on the couch, albeit more wrinkled than they were the night before. Somehow he had managed to finish the paperwork early that morning, and had only been able to get a couple hours of sleep, since he had to get up early that day. From what it looked like outside it was only around five in the morning, meaning that he had had only three hours of sleep.

Shikamaru stood, a groan slipping past his lips as he reached around to his back and rubbed hard. Sleeping on couches in an up-right position? Not a good idea. He'd certainly never do _that_ again.

When he gathered all the papers, he put them haphazardly back into the folders, not particularly caring that they weren't in an order of any kind, which would probably end up annoying Tsunade (or rather, Shizune, since she'd probably be the one to check the papers for completeness and correctness). When done with that, he set the folders down on the couch and headed toward his room to gather clothes for a quick shower. As he stepped into the room he unconsciously glanced toward the bed, where Neji was sleeping peacefully, a lock of hair crossing over his cheek and barely missing the corner of his mouth. The blankets were pulled around the boy's toned body, and Shikamaru could very faintly see the outline of said body through the creases in the blankets. Shaking his head slightly to get himself undistracted, he strolled over to his closet and grabbed whatever clothes his hand landed on first, since it didn't really matter what he wore anyway; it wasn't like he was actually leaving the village for a mission.

With a final glance at the slumbering older boy, Shikamaru walked into the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind him.

--

Neji woke to the sound of running water, causing him to crease his brow in confusion before it registered in him about where he was currently at. Yawning, he sat up and folded the blankets over his legs before deciding to just sit there for a few minutes, his mind lost in thought.

He was at the Nara's house, clearly meaning that he was still very much alive. His head still hurt beyond belief, but it was at a far more manageable level than when the seal had been activated, which he was grateful for. But…he had been certain that he would die, or at the very least have been put into a never-ending coma if death didn't claim him. So…why was he still alive and staying at the Nara's house?

His thoughts were forgotten as the bathroom door opened and watched as a few tendrils of steam slipping out followed by the Nara, who was messily drying his hair with a towel. He looked to be distracted by what he was doing, and didn't notice Neji until he was fully out of the bathroom and had dropped the towel from his hair.

To his credit, the Nara was taking this situation oddly well and merely stared at him a few moments before shrugging and adjusting his slightly baggy white shirt. "It's a pain, but I need to go meet the people from Suna for chuunin exam things, so I can't make breakfast for you. There's instant ramen from Naruto in there if you get hungry."

Neji simply stared at him, a sigh slipping out. Was that all the Nara really had to say to him? Was he even going to question _why_ Neji was the way he was at the current moment?

As if he had been reading Neji's thoughts, the Nara turned awkwardly and threw the towel back into the bathroom before slowly walking to the door. "We'll talk later. I need to pick up your troublesome genin right now so I won't be late to 'greet' the kazekage and his siblings."

Neji blinked and before he could say more than "what–", the Nara was out the door; if Neji had really wanted to get his attention he could've shouted, but that would've been too much to have done, since all he wanted to know was _what_ the Nara was doing with _his_ genin.

Sighing, Neji allowed himself to fall back onto the Nara's bed and closed his eyes, not bothering to put the blankets back over himself. He'd have to get his questions answered whenever the Nara returned; which, from what the Nara had said about having to deal with the Suna people, wouldn't be for a while yet.

--

Shikamaru sighed as he closed his front door behind him, and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. This was…way too awkward. What was he supposed to say to the guy, when he hadn't even _talked_ to him in the past couple of years? _Especially_ if he was using _his_ bed, and wearing _his_ clothes? It…was too weird.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and slipped the sheet of paper that had the addresses of Aimi, Hiroshi, and Keiichi on it. He'd have to go to each person's individual house to meet them, since it was still a few hours until they'd normally meet for training; if they were normal kids, they'd probably still be sleeping (which was something he _really_ wanted to do right now).

Scanning it over quickly, he realized that the three of them lived really close together, meaning that he wouldn't have to wander around the entire village trying to gather everyone up so they could get to the village gates before Gaara and crew arrived (which was very helpful, since he was pretty sure that his shower lasted a little longer than it should've). Quickly he made his way down the street toward where Aimi lived, since she was the closest at only a couple blocks away.

For the few minutes that it took to walk to the girl's house, he thought of the promise of sorts that he had given Neji about talking later. Why had he said that? Neji probably wasn't ready to talk about what happened; least of all with him! At the very least he knew that Neji had made a good recovery and was functioning just fine, although he couldn't really know that for sure since he had only heard the guy talk once, and hadn't seen him do much else besides sit up and eat. But even so, he was very confident that Neji would make a full recovery – or, at least as recovered as he could possibly be, with what happened.

Before he knew it he was standing in front of Aimi's house, and looked down at the paper again to recheck the address before sighing once more. This was the place; it looked like every other middle-class citizen's house, meaning that Aimi's parents weren't ninja like most of the genin and academy students' parents were. He couldn't help but wonder how that happened, since most people who were married to a citizen – and were a citizen themselves – didn't choose to send their child to the academy, and instead usually sent their son or daughter to a regular school for citizens that didn't specialize in ninja training. It was a rare case when they did, and when that did happen, the child was usually not very good at what they were doing; which fit Aimi perfectly, if what Hiroshi had said about her had been true.

Mentally he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts that plagued it and walked up to the door, fervently hoping that _someone_ was awake, and that he wouldn't be chewed out because he had woken them up at 5:30 in the morning. Muttering "troublesome" under his breath, he knocked on the door thrice before taking a step back and waiting for some kind of response from within. Almost immediately he could hear footsteps, which meant that someone had indeed been awake.

Slowly he released the breath that he hadn't known he had been holding, and relaxed his body when the door opened to reveal a blonde-haired woman (immediately he knew where Aimi's looks came from; she was a spitting image of the woman standing in front of him). Her expression was one of curiosity; quickly she scanned him over before looking him in the eye, her eyes resembling Aimi's more than before with the wonderment evident in them. "Yes? How can I help you, shinobi-san?"

Shikamaru balked at being called 'shinobi-san', before he reached up and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Is Aimi here? I know it's a little early, but…"

"Oh! You must be the Shika-sensei I've heard so much about!" The woman's eyes brightened, before she motioned for Shikamaru to accompany her inside. "I'll get Aimi; you can wait in the living room." A wry smile covered her lips as she added, "Trust me, you'll want to. She's quite the heavy sleeper, so waking her up will take a little time."

Shikamaru waved a hand in front of his face and said, "It's fine. I have to get her teammates anyway; this way it'll be a lot quicker and we won't be…late. Just have her wait out front when she's up and ready, okay?"

The woman smiled and nodded, before bidding him goodbye and closing the door. For a few moments Shikamaru stood there, focusing his attention on the woman's footsteps as she walked farther into the house, until he could barely hear them anymore. Sighing, he turned away from the house and glanced back down at the paper and continued on his way again; Hiroshi was the next closest, and he hoped that the boy wasn't a heavy sleeper like his female teammate was.

--

He couldn't help but feel a little…reluctant to walk up to the door. From the sounds coming from the inside, it seemed like Hiroshi had been awake for a while now, and apparently started his day the instant he woke up. Or, at the very least, that's the best that Shikamaru could assume.

Sighing, Shikamaru walked up to the door and knocked thrice like he had done at Aimi's, then took a step back to wait. Inside he could hear shouting, like the kind of shouting that's done when you don't want to open the door, so you send someone else to do it instead, followed immediately by quick footsteps then the door opening. To his surprise, it wasn't Hiroshi who answered; it wasn't even one of Hiroshi's family members. Why was–

"Nara-sensei? What're you doing here?"

–Keiichi opening Hiroshi's front door?

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and then said, "Is Hiroshi up? We're meeting by the front gate."

"Why?" Keiichi frowned, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "Do we have a mission or something?"

"Ah, no. It'd be too much of a pain to go on a mission with you guys." Shikamaru smirked ever-so-slightly, before someone in the background caught his eye. "Oi! Hiroshi, let's go! We're going to be late!"

"Shika-sensei?" Hiroshi paused, his eyes widening in surprise at seeing their temporary sensei at his door. "Late for what? We're just about to have breakfast!"

"We're meeting some people at the front gate. Bring your breakfast with you, if you have to eat." Upon the mention of food, Shikamaru's stomach decided to let everyone know that he hadn't eaten, causing him to groan softly in embarrassment.

Hiroshi grinned, before waving for them to get out of the house. "I'll get enough for all of us, Aimi included!"

Shikamaru didn't have time to protest before Hiroshi disappeared farther into the house. Sighing softly in mild annoyance, he ran his hand through his sloppily-made ponytail before turning his attention to Keiichi. "That kid…reminds me a little too much of someone I know." Without explaining himself, Shikamaru turned away from a slightly puzzled Keiichi and yawned. "No use waiting here; he can catch up with us."

Keiichi merely nodded and closed the door behind him then followed Shikamaru down the road. Silence spread out between them, but it wasn't necessarily the uncomfortable kind; but it wasn't quite the companionable sort of silence, either. It was the kind of not-awkward silence that two people who preferred silence enjoyed, but were reluctant to revel in it with another person.

"Oiii! Shika-sensei, Kei-kun! Where's Hiro-kun?"

Up ahead Aimi stood on the lowest step leading up to her house, one hand raised in the air in greeting while the other was dusting off her light tan shorts. Next to him Keiichi scoffed at the name Aimi had called him, bringing a half-smile to Shikamaru's lips. "He's bringing breakfast; he'll catch up."

"Yatta!" Aimi shouted as a grin spread out on her lips. Quickly she about-faced, and said, "We'll, let's hurry then!"

The half-smile stayed in place as Shikamaru shook his head in amusement, and then followed after the overzealous Aimi, Keiichi trailing behind him. No matter the situation he could always count on the young girl to brighten things, whether she really meant to do so or not.

For a few minutes they walked, Aimi and Keiichi talking quietly while he did his best to ignore the two teammates who clearly wanted to "be alone" and discuss whatever it was that they were discussing, since it clearly had nothing to do with him. It didn't take long to reach the village gates, thanks to the fact that they all lived close by them.

Unconsciously he nodded at Kotetsu and Izumo as his eyes sought out figures outside the village gates. To their luck, no one was there yet; on their side, not even the chuunin that was supposed to meet them had arrived.

Shikamaru sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, and then turned at the sound of running; apparently Hiroshi had caught up, if he recognized the footsteps properly. Behind Hiroshi the chuunin was coming, visibly trying to hold in the yawn that threatened to slip out.

Hiroshi help up the bag he was carrying with a grin. "It's taiyaki this time, Kei! Red bean paste, like you always want it!"

"'This time'…?" Shikamaru echoed, his curiosity about why Keiichi had been at Hiroshi's house sparking all over again. As Hiroshi handed him one of the fish-shaped snacks, he asked, "Why was Keiichi at your house?"

Hiroshi looked surprise for a second, before he grinned mischievously then said, "Well, you see–"

"Hiroshi, hurry up. You can to sensei later."

Hiroshi turned upon hearing his name from Keiichi, and then shrugged at Shikamaru. "I'll tell you later then, if I remember."

Shikamaru sighed as Hiroshi walked off, and then glanced down at Aimi who had moved so she was standing next to him. Silently he raised an eyebrow as she took a bite of the taiyaki, curious about her sudden closeness. "Wha–"

"He spends a lot of time at Hiro-kun's house." Shikamaru blinked in confusion before it dawned on him that she was talking about Keiichi. "The reason why, though, isn't really mine to tell…but I can tell you that they're really close." Aimi grinned childishly, before adding, "'though they don't act like it most of the time."

Shikamaru "hmmm"ed softly to himself, before Hiroshi caught his eye. The boy was jumping up and down, waving like a manic, meaning that who they were supposed to meet had probably arrived (good thing they hadn't arrived a few minutes sooner, since all of them had just arrived themselves). Silently he counted down from ten to himself, and couldn't help but smirk when he heard Temari's voice at one.

"Oi, crybaby! Who're the kids?"

Lazily he turned and faked a yawn. "They're Neji's. It's a pain, but I'm watching them for him during the chuunin exam preparations."

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Never thought I'd see the day when you willingly hung out with genin, pineapple head."

Shikamaru shrugged, then looked down as he felt someone grab onto his hand. Aimi was hanging off him, her eyes wide as she looked at the various people from Suna. Sighing, he said, "This is Temari. Those two," he lazily motioned in Kankurou and Gaara's direction, "are her brothers, Kankurou and Gaara. Gaara's the kage of Suna, while Temari and Kankurou are his advisors." Turning his attention back to Temari, he added, "This is Aimi, Hiroshi, and Keiichi. They're entering the exams this time around."

Temari nodded toward the three genin before asking, "So what did the hokage want us to do?"

"We're to show you guys to your rooms, then take you three and the other jounins to meet her in her office." Shikamaru nodded toward the yawning chuunin and added, "The genin follow him. I don't know what they're supposed to be doing, though."

Temari motioned for the genin behind her to follow the chuunin, and then said, "Well, let's get going then!"

--

Sakura sighed to herself as she waited for the meeting with the Suna officials to be over, and lazily glanced at Shikamaru, who was fighting off a yawn. It had been a couple days since she had last talked to him about Neji, and was really curious about how he was doing.

"Oi, Sakura. When we're done here, will you be busy?"

Sakura blinked in surprise, her eyes locking with Shikamaru's. "Er…no. Why?"

She watched as he glanced at the three genin who were messing around a little farther down the hallway, then whispered, "He's moving around now. I was wondering if you could check up on him."

Ah, Neji.

"No, I should be able to." Sakura smiled, relieved that she hadn't had to bring it up herself. "Um…would you like me to report back to you, or…?"

"Sure." Shikamaru shrugged. "We'll be on the training grounds out past the bridge. The kids want to hang out with Temari, and that troublesome woman agreed."

Sakura laughed softly as the door to the hokage's office opened, then nodded. "I'll meet you there after I check in on Neji, then. Do I need a key, or is the door going to be open?"

"It should be unlocked, but there's a key under the mat if you need it. See you."

Sakura waved as he walked away, Temari on one side and Neji's genin on the other. She had to hurry to see Neji; if he was indeed walking around like Shikamaru had told her, then that meant that Neji was making good time in his physical recovery. But even so, she couldn't help but feel that something didn't seem quite right…

--

About an hour later Shikamaru spotted Sakura walking toward them, a small brown paper bag in each hand. Silently he waited a few moments, his attention half on the dueling genin in front of him, the other half watching Sakura's progress, before he sighed and stood, his hands automatically reaching down to dust off his pants. "I need to talk to Sakura, I'll be back."

Without waiting for a response he made the short walk to meet with Sakura, then carelessly motioned to a location a little farther off so the group behind them wouldn't be able to hear. "How is he?"

Sakura ignored his question, and instead held up one of the bags. "Here, give this to Neji. It's painkillers for his headaches, since the side-effects of the seal being activated haven't come off yet."

(So Neji had told her what happened? Shikamaru definitely didn't remember telling her about any seal activation, although she had seen him before…)

"And in this bag's a vile that he's supposed to take a small sip of any time he plans on moving around a lot. Don't forget to tell him that." After handing him the two bags, she lifted her gaze from ground-level to lock onto his, her eyes completely serious. "I know you said that you'd do your best, and that you think it's your responsibility to take care of Neji after seeing _that_, but…if I think that he's being neglected too much, purposefully or no, I'll have to take him to the hospital. I just want you to know that. And I realize that your other duties are important…" She trailed off, her fists clenching slighly before she continued. "But right now Neji's the one you need to focus most of your attention on. He's–"

Sakura cut herself off again, her eyes narrowing this time. "I can't…say why, since Neji told me not to. But you need to get those medicine to him as soon as you can, so I'll take over the genin for the day." Upon seeing that Shikamaru was going to protest, she held up her hand, her eyes softening. "Please? He may not show it, but Neji really needs someone with him right now. And I think that person should be you, Shikamaru. It wouldn't be any trouble, since today's my day off anyway."

Shikamaru sighed, knowing full well that even if he had argued that Sakura would just continue to prod him to leave, nodded and took both bags. "I'll go, then. His genin are a real pain, but if you want to watch them, that's your problem."

--

The first thing Shikamaru noticed when he opened his door was that something didn't feel right; like something was off about the situation, although he couldn't quite put his finger on it. (Déjà vu, anyone?) Hesitantly he closed the door behind him and set the bags on the spare chair before taking a couple of steps farther into his house. Immediately his eyes were drawn to the kitchen, where a steadily growing puddle of water was nearing his carpet.

Quickly he made his way over, and stopped in shock at the sight that lay before him. Neji was propped up against the cabinet door, his hands dangling between his bent knees, cuts and small burn marks covering both. Right next to him was the pot that he used to boil water and a shattered glass cup and a tea bag that was leaking out into the puddle of water. His eyes were empty, like they had been when Shikamaru had first discovered him awake, and a shiver of fear darted down his spine.

Softly he called Neji's name, unsure if the boy would respond to it or be catatonic like he had been before. But, to his immense relief, Neji's head turned ever-so-slightly in Shikamaru's direction, his eyes apparently searching out for him but not quite seeing him. Shikamaru released the breath he had been holding and bent down to help the ex-Hyuuga off the ground, all the while trying to figure out what happened; getting yourself a simple cup of tea shouldn't have been so…hazardous, should it? Could it have possiblye had had something to do with the bags that Sakura had given him, and the way she was so forceful about him getting home? But…what did she know about Neji's condition that he did not?

--

**A/N:** In my head the ending was way cooler, but in all it's awesome-ness I couldn't duplicate it. XD So I tried.

In my…days of not posting this, I kinda laid out the rest of the story to see just how much more of it I'm going to be writing, and it looks like this fic's going to be around 12-ish chapters, with an epilogue as well. :)

And about the next update…I'm not entirely sure if it'd be Wednesday, but I guess that'd depend on if I want to make it another long one or not. So we'll see. :)

**Read and review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Okay. This one's another long one, and is going to be the beginning and cover some of the chuunin exams (which'll be really choppy in parts, 'coz some are more important than others XD). There's goin' to be some fun stuff comin' up about the genins, so get ready! :) And…Neji's not gonna show up much again XD He'll be like, the "main" character after the chuunin exams tho'. :)

Oh yes, very minor manga spoilers, but nothing really…bad. :)

Thank you for the reviews you guys!

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Five_

_That day that he found the semi-conscious Neji on his kitchen floor, he hadn't asked questions about what had happened and instead had just helped the boy up and gave him one of the painkillers before putting him to bed. He had cleaned the mess that had been made, all the while trying not to think about it, and whether Sakura had known something like this was going to happen; and if she had, why hadn't she tried to prevent it? Or…was that what the vile and painkillers were for? _

_He honestly hadn't known, and didn't think that it wouldn't have proper for him to have questioned Neji when the boy clearly was too stunned by what had happened to have answered his questions. So he had let it go, pushed it to the back of his mind for later questioning, and instead focused on what was immediate; which had been the chuunin exams._

_Now here he was, a couple days later and "enjoying" his position in the chuunin exams._

Shikamaru yawned as he sat down on the hard stone floor of the building where the preliminary matches were going to be held. He had been in Hayate's old position for about a year now, for most of which he had spent learning about what to do in certain situations, when to stop a match, when to step in, etc. and running through mock-exam exercises so it would become an unconscious move to step in if need be. Needless to say, as his first time judging matches from down below (and not participating from above), it didn't seem so bad; but then again, he'd complain about it regardless, _especially_ if more genin than normal were to show up (which, this time around anyway, was expected; it was estimated that twice as many teams than ever before had shown up and quite a few of them had teams that, to him, sounded too much like Neji's for comfort).

Softly he sighed to himself and glanced at the clock on the wall. Because of the expected large turn-out of genin going into the preliminaries, the exams had actually started at five that morning, instead of the usual seven. He had been instructed to be at his post by 7:30, since by then the teams would already have started going into the "Forest of Death", and he was supposed to be there in case there was a repeat of Team Gaara those years ago when they got through in an hour and 37 minutes. (Honesty, the only team he could see doing that was the one he had adopted, but he hadn't actually seen any of the other teams; heck, he didn't even know, beyond Neji, who was even a sensei!)

Yawning again, he laid himself down on the stone and put his arms under his head as a make-shift pillow. It was only around 7:40; even if a team managed to come in the same time as Gaara's had, he'd still be able to catch himself a half-an-hour nap.

--

"Shikamaru! Sleeping on the job?"

Shikamaru groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, and resisted the urge to jump when several familiar faces came into view. Reluctantly he sat up, glanced at the clock (which read 7:53), and laid back down in mild annoyance. "I was going to get up in 20 minutes, Sakura. What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

Sakura grinned wryly, and thumbed in her companion's direction. "They wanted to come up here since they're positive that their genin will make it through, and I'm here as the head medic in charge of the exams." Sheepishly she added, "And…I wanted to cheer on Aimi-chan, Hiroshi, and Keiichi, since I'm sure they'd make it through as well."

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, Lee, and TenTen, and sighed when he saw that the three of them were animatedly bickering about something (their genin, probably). His gaze momentarily lingered on Naruto and the slightly tattered trench coat he was wearing that he had gotten from Tsunade on his 18th birthday; on that day they had all learned something they had never even had guessed about the boy's parents, and although Naruto had refused to even touch it at first, Shikamaru could now see that the long jacket was very important to him.

"_Hey, Shikamaru-senpai. You're not gonna believe this."_

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly as the headphones to his mic crackled to life, and the voice of one of the chuunin helpers streamed through. "What is it?"

"_One of the teams is coming at you fast; I'd guess that they'll reach you in approximately ten minutes."_

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly, catching the attention of the other three in the room. "Ten minutes? Are you sure?"

"_Positive. I'm not really familiar with the teams, but it's definitely one of the ones from here."_

"Konoha, then." Shikamaru muttered to himself as his gaze landed on Naruto, Lee, and TenTen. "What about the others?"

"_Just a sec."_ The mic died for a moment, then came back to life with, _"Um…it looks like one of the other Konoha teams is right behind them, maybe by 5 minutes. The other two seem to be engaged in battles with teams from other countries, but are still pretty far ahead of the main group."_

Silently Shikamaru held his thumb up as a signal that all four Konoha teams were doing well before speaking again. "How many teams are left?"

"_Mm…15, maybe. Man, these genin are _tough_! I think we'll have to do what Tsunade-sama was saying about doing two fights at one time, if we're to stay on schedule. I'll keep you updated, 'kay? Over'n'out."_

Sighing, Shikamaru turned his mic off and ran a hand through his hair. "Someone's got a crazy team; they'll be here in about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? But…they've only been out there for _maybe_ an hour and a half! They've got until mid-afternoon, so why so quick?" Sakura's eyes narrowed in confusion, her gaze locking on the clock. "That's nearly ten minutes faster than what Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou did!"

"Damn…" Shikamaru muttered to himself, then added, "Another team's about 5 minutes behind them; both are from here."

Naruto and Lee cheered and TenTen smiled, while Sakura and Shikamaru exchanged a glance. Just whose team was it that shot through the forest like it was nothing? Apparently Neji's team wasn't the only one with ahead-of-the-class genin on it…

--

A little under ten minutes later they could hear the muffled sounds of shouting, causing them all to stop and see whose team it was that had come first. Slowly the voices became easier to hear, until they could clearly hear a young girl's voice.

"Kenta-kun, matte yo! There's not a prize for being the first ones here, you know!"

"Yuna, just leave him be. You know how he is when he gets excited."

Shikamaru had no idea whose team it was, even with their names being said. Just as he was about to turn to ask whose genin they were, the shouted, "Lee-sensei!" stopped him and caused his jaw to slacken slightly. They were Lee's, huh? Somehow he got the feeling he should've known that…

Immediately after the shout three genin skidded to a stop, a matching grin on all three faces. The first was a young boy with crimson red hair cut short so it reached just below his chin, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a black undershirt and baggy black pants, and a white jacket that only had one button in the middle of the boy's chest; in the back it hung down to about mid-knee, and swished with every slight movement that the boy made. On his back was an equally crimson red staff with a symbol that Shikamaru couldn't recognize carved into it. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead where it was meant to be, and held back the boy's hair away from his eyes.

The second was a girl with long, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her shirt was brown and black, with an off-white strip running from one of her shoulders down all the way to the bottom of it, which ended just below her hips. Her shorts were brown and black like her shirt, and also had an off-white strip running down it, only this time it ran down both legs. Her hitai-ate was sown into her clothes at just below her stomach.

The other boy's outfit was tame compared to his teammates, with a pair of baggy tan shorts and a civilian-style navy blue shirt. His hair dark violet, short, and stuck out at random angles and generally ignored all the laws of physics. His eyes were a calm shade of grey, and were currently sparkling with amusement.

"These are my youthful genin, minna!"

Shikamaru turned his attention to Lee, who had joined the three genin and was now grinning like a proud father; or, in this case, team leader. Somehow not one of the three seemed annoyed at Lee's over exuberance, and actually seemed to welcome it; if the grins that stayed in place didn't give that away enough.

"The name's Takahashi Kenta. Hope you're all doin' well." Kenta winked at Sakura and TenTen, and Shikamaru had to hold in a laugh when the two girls raised an eyebrow in return. Apparently they hadn't expected for someone on Lee's team to be a shameless flirt.

"Umm…I'm Torisei Yuna. It's nice to meet you everyone." Yuna smiled shyly, the carefree grin from before gone (from the looks of it she was shy around people that weren't on her team, which immediately reminded him of Hinata).

"Yamakazi Mitsuru. Ignore Kenta, he's just an idiot." Mitsuru grinned and dodged an attack from Kenta, who was mock-glaring at him, amusement in his eyes as well. "You only attack 'coz you know it's true, Ken."

"Hai hai." The still grinning Lee rested a hand on both boys' shoulders, and said, "I have faith in the youthfulness of my students, and know they will go far!"

As Lee launched into a praise session of his genin, Shikamaru blocked him out and turned his attention to the front again. The chuunin had told him that another group was coming right after them, so they should've been coming any minute.

"Lookin' for Hiro's group?"

Shikamaru blinked at hearing Kenta talk to him, and nodded. "They were behind you, weren't they?"

Kenta nodded, and brought his hands up to lock behind his head. "They didn't wanna race, though, which sucked much since it would've been fun…"

Shikamaru simply smirked slightly in response, before talking caught his attention. He couldn't hear much, but what he could hear confused him beyond belief.

"…Kei, don't make a scene, alright?"

"…Screw off, Arakaki."

"Oh, c'mon you guys! Don't start that here, save it for some time else!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as a very peeved looking Keiichi walked into the room, while a sighing Hiroshi and a mildly annoyed Aimi trailed behind him. The trio normally was very friendly with each other, so this sudden turn of events seemed strange.

"Oi. Don't be a pain in the ass, you guys. I have enough to deal with right now; I don't need you three bickering and adding more to that." Shikamaru said as the three stopped in front of him, their eyes purposely locking onto spots in the complete opposite direction from each other. When they didn't respond Shikamaru sighed and ran a hand through his hair in slight annoyance.

He, of course, didn't notice the look of worry that Kenta sent toward someone in his group; if he _had_ noticed, he might've understood – at least partially – the reason behind it. But since he didn't, the look went unnoticed by all, and most importantly was unnoticed by the one it was aimed at.

--

Over the next couple of hours the rest of the teams arrived, coming to a total of 12 teams making it through; which was cut down from the 36 teams that had originally gone into the forest. When all the team leaders had arrived and moved to stand with their respective group, Shikamaru cleared his throat and begun.

"Because of the large amount of genin that had managed to get through Practice Area #44, we'll have to do preliminary matches to bring the group to a more manageable level. And since there're a lot of matches to get through, we're going to split the group in half so we can be running two matches at the same time to make this part of the tournament move quicker. Any questions?" When no hands were raised in response to his query, Shikamaru motioned toward Genma who had joined him just minutes before and added, "Genma's going to read off a list of names. Those people whose name he calls are to follow him into the other room, where he'll be holding the other half of the matches."

As if on cue Genma began reading. "The following people please follow me: Yoshizumi Akio, Natsume Masao, Kaoin Yasuhiro, Yoshioka Tomoko, Kushinagi Akira, Matano Kohaku, Yamakazi Mitsuru, Kawabata Mahiru, Uetake Daichi, Yunokawa Tetsuo, Sanjo Kosuke, Shibata Daisuke, Ono Yuu, Ikeda Youhei, Etsuko Jun, Minami Hideo, Shigenoi Iori, and Hiyashi Aimi. The rest of you stay here and listen to Shikamaru's instructions."

The group that had their names called begun walking away, some a little more hesitantly than others. After receiving a hug from both of her partners, and giving Shikamaru a hug of her own, Aimi joined the group and waved once before the doors were closed 

behind them. Sighing softly, Shikamaru gathered the remaining genins attention and started. "Alright, so the matches are going to be randomized. You win when your opponent falls unconscious, gives up, or, in an extreme event, dies. When all of you arrive on the balcony that lines the walls, we'll begin."

Silently Shikamaru watched the genin and their respective team leader climb both sets of stairs, until the last one stopped at the top and rested against the cold bars. Nodding slightly to himself, he turned to the wall that had the board for the matches and pushed the button that got the machine running. After flipping through the names for a few seconds, two names remained on the board.

Taking in a deep breath, he said, "Takahashi Kenta versus Urasawa Ren." When the two boys arrived on the ground floor, he held up a hand then quickly brought it down. "Begin!"

He honestly hadn't known what to expect from the red head on Lee's team, but this certainly wasn't it. The boy's movements were fluid and controlled perfectly, and were quick enough to easily confuse his opponent almost immediately. For the whole fight – if you could even call the two-minute battle _that_ – a smile remained on Kenta's face; it didn't even seem like the boy had actually tried to fight his opponent and was instead playing with him, as if the entire exam was nothing more than a big game to him.

When Ren fell to the ground and didn't make any motions that implied that he was going to get up, Shikamaru held up his hand. "Winner, Takahashi Kenta!"

On the other board that was behind Shikamaru, Kenta's name appeared at the top; cheers from Yuna and Lee resounded in the closed room and echoed long after they had stopped.

The next line of matches went by quickly, and didn't really have any reason to stick in Shikamaru's mind for more than a couple seconds. He only paid true attention to the match when one of the names he had been waiting for appeared.

"Arakaki Hiroshi versus Tsushima Ryou."

When the two boys reached the floor, one faking a yawn while the other looked on in annoyance, Shikamaru repeated the motion he had made for the previous matches and said, "Begin!"

The fight again seemed mismatched, like Kenta's had been, and was over long before anything truly interesting appeared in Hiroshi's arsenal of ninjutsu techniques. (Sadly, Shikamaru had actually been expecting something interesting to have come from that fight. Apparently he had overestimated the opponent, or underestimated Hiroshi; either way it didn't matter since it didn't give him too much entertainment.)

The other match he had wanted to watch, which had been Keiichi's, also didn't come off as too interesting, since clearly the level that Neji's genin were at was far above those of the genin from other villages, save the few others that had managed to surprise Shikamaru by how quickly they also managed to win their fights. Before he knew it all the matches went through, for both him and Genma, and the board listing the genin that were moving on was full.

"We still have far too many genin to do the actual tournament part of the exams, so we'll have to go through another round of preliminaries tomorrow. But for now you guys can leave and rest up, and those still in it should be back here by seven tomorrow morning."

At the dismissive tone of Genma's voice, the genin and their team leaders began trailing out the door, the victorious ones talking excitedly to their partners about their next fight the following day.

Now he had to make his way to the meeting with Tsunade to get to, which he dearly hoped wouldn't take _too_ long to get done with…

--

Shikamaru yawned widely as he finally stepped into his house after the first part of the preliminaries and the 2-hour-long meeting him and the other exam supervisors had had with Tsunade. They had decided on doing the next round of preliminaries as they had done the first – half with Shikamaru, the other with Genma – which would give each group a bye-person, therefore making later rounds a little easier to handle so there wouldn't be so many singles fighters there.

Mentally he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts of tomorrow, and instead reflected on the matches he had witnessed that day. It was a really curious thing, the way those three fought so similarly. It was like they were all from the same mold, even thought their specialties varied; at least on Hiroshi and Keiichi's part, since he hadn't actually seen Kenta fight enough to figure out what his specialty was.

"…You're back. I was going to make ramen if you hadn't returned in a couple more hours."

Shikamaru glanced at Neji, who, for all intents and purposes, looked like he had just woken up, and shrugged. "I'm sick of ramen. Soba work for you?"

"…So you go from one noodle meal to the other?" Neji raised an eyebrow before he turned away in a dismissive manner. "Whatever's fine."

Shikamaru grunted in response and headed for the kitchen, his mind returning to the fights. His body went through the motions of making dinner while he thought of the way the three fought, and ended up re-verifying his suspicion that they fought too much alike for it to all be a coincidence; for Hiroshi and Keiichi to at the very least resemble each other's fighting style he could understand, since they were on the same team, but Kenta? He really hadn't known Neji's group before having picked them up, but for some reason he was fairly certain that lee's genin and Neji's genin didn't mingle much, let alone train together.

And since he was thinking along the lines of curious happenings, what had happened between Hiroshi and Keiichi before the matches, right after coming out of the Forest? He had never heard Keiichi call Hiroshi by his last name, and he had never heard Hiroshi be even _remotely_ annoyed at anyone. It didn't make any sense to him at all. Maybe Neji'd know something about their relationship that he did not…?

"If you keep staring off into space like that, Nara, the noodles will overcook."

Shikamaru was torn out of his thoughts by Neji's quiet voice, and then unconsciously widened his eyes in surprise when he felt a soft hand covering his own. For a single moment he thought that Neji had something weird on his mind, before he silently let out the breath he had been holding when Neji simply removed his hand from the pot handle it had been on and begun finishing the remaining parts of the meal that Shikamaru had been too deep in thought to bother starting. Clearing his throat of the sudden lump that made its way there, he took and step back and tried to figure out just _why_ he had had that kind of reaction to Neji; let alone another guy! Mentally he shook his head and watched Neji work, his mind drifting back to the "relationship troubles" that Hiroshi and Keiichi had been experiencing. Now was the perfect moment to ask about it…

"Do Hiroshi and Keiichi fight often?" Neji froze and glanced at him, before continuing on with what he was doing, making Shikamaru add, "I was asking because they were arguing a bit after coming out of the Forest. It seemed a little odd for Keiichi to call Hiroshi by his last name, so that's why I was wondering…but if it's too much of a pain to explain, I don't really need to know."

"Is calling Hiro "Arakaki" all that he did?"

Shikamaru, who had actually thought that Neji wouldn't answer him, blinked momentarily in surprise before shrugging. "I couldn't really hear them all that well, but that's all Keiichi did. Before that, though, Hiroshi told to him to not make a scene, whatever that meant."

Neji's eyes narrowed slightly as he muttered something to himself, and then turned to face Shikamaru. "Keep an eye on them for the next couple of days. Make sure they're separated at all times and make sure that Hiro doesn't talk to Kenta." At Shikamaru's confused look, he sighed. "Kei's like this because Kenta's there."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Kenta? Why?"

A funny look entered Neji's eye as he grabbed two bowls out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. "You really don't know? And they say you're intelligent."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "I'd know if it were important enough to know."

Neji laughed dryly before handing Shikamaru one of the bowls. "Then this is one bit of important information that you _don't_ know, Nara."

--

Neji hadn't said much else after that, leaving the two of them to sit on Shikamaru's couch in slightly-companionable silence. Although he thought about it for the rest of the night, Shikamaru couldn't find out _what_ connection the two had with one another, leaving him clueless about why Keiichi could be acting so out of character because of one boy on Lee's team.

The following morning the thought still was bothering him, even as the group split in half like it had done before. He had even been so deep in thought to not notice that several fights had gone by; only when a soft "Shika-sensei? Are you okay?" reached his ears did he wrench himself out of his thoughts.

Blinking a couple times, he laid eyes on Aimi who was standing in front of him, her opponent standing across from her, a mildly annoyed look on both of their faces. Apparently he had called them down for their fight, but had yet to give them the signal (which made sense for Aimi to worry about him).

For a few seconds Shikamaru scanned the other girl Aimi was fighting – Itsuki, was her name – and saw the familiar Suna symbol tied around her waist. In appearance the girl actually reminded him a lot of Temari, aside from the fact that the girl's hair was tied in one ponytail instead of the four that Temari had hers in. What set her off as different, though, was the way that tiny, slightly twisted smirk settled so easily into place as he raised his hand to begin the fight.

What he couldn't know at that moment was that the blind faith he had put into Aimi – since he had seen her fight for the past week, and knew that she was highly skilled – would be his downfall, and that Aimi wouldn't be the one winning.

--

**A/N:** Hmmmmm…yay for choppy chuunin exams! XD There's actually only going to be _three_ fights I will focus on…and Aimi's fight is one of them. :) So all the rest will be quickly skimmed over, all the way through the remaining part of the tournament. And we had some very slight Neji-stuff in here, since it felt wrong to have him not in a chapter. :shifty eyes:

The exams'll be over next chapter (which _should_ be out Saturday), so Neji'll play a bigger role in two! And other stuff about the genin will be uncovered. :)

**Read and review!**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** eh heh…needless to say, this is another long one, since it includes two fights – since I kinda ditched the last one 'coz the chapter was gettin' too long for my tastes… – in as much detail as I could do with being t3h suck at action scenes. :) And I know I said that I'd get it out yesterday, but I never knew that writing a lot of fight scenes could take so much out a person. Xx;

And thank you for the reviews! They're much appreciated. :)

Oh, and juunigatsu4ame…I normally hate OCs too…but I couldn't resist this time around. XP They just kind of…appeared with the thought "HEY! Neji should have brats!" and WHAM! He's got brats XDD

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Six_

_Her leg snapped, and she knew she had only one chance to get it right; one chance to at the very least secure half a victory against her opponent, who was much better off than she._

Shikamaru stared down at the crisp white sheets, before his gaze landed on the off-white color of the bandages on her leg. As his eyes traveled up her body, through the thin sheets he would see various other locations on her that also was bandaged until his gaze landed on her face; her eyes were closed, her face pinched (whether it was from the brace holding her neck and head steady, or from her reliving what happened just hours before in her sleep, he couldn't be sure). Silently he set a hand on the covers and shut his eyes, all the while trying to force the image of her match out of his mind.

--

"Begin!"

Aimi stared warily at her opponent for a few seconds, unsure about how to deal with the girl since for the first round they had been in different groups, and hadn't seen each other fight. Slowly she released a breath, her eyes still locked on her opponent who looked very much annoyed at the fact that Aimi wasn't doing anything to start the match, and allowed her body to relax into the fighting stance that was so familiar to her; it was nothing particularly fancy, just her legs spread out a little, one arm extended in front of her with her thumb curled over her palm while the other rested open handed just above her hip.

To those watching – like Shikamaru – her stance highly resembled that of the Hyuuga clan's when they were going to use Jyuken, and those who knew who her sensei was weren't as surprised by it as those who knew of the Hyuuga clan but not that Hyuuga Neji was her team leader. Aimi, of course, ignored the whispers coming from above, and narrowed her eyes slightly when her opponent lunged.

Shikamaru watched as Itsuki pushed off with her foot and launched herself at Aimi, her right arm positioned in such a way so that when she got close enough to her opponent she'd be able to release it without losing momentum. As she got closer to Aimi, who had yet to do anything besides calmly stand there in the like-Hyuuga stance, her grin widened, evidently thinking that she was going to get a free shot since her opponent had apparently froze when she had started to move. At just a couple feet away she stopped and immediately pulled her arm forward in a straight line, before widening her eyes in surprise when she found herself falling, and barely managed to catch herself before she touched ground. When she turned Aimi was in a different stance than before, this time closer to the ground with her left leg extended out in front of her while her right leg was bent, one arm held forward while the other one was pointed backward. In each hand she held a small dagger, which Itsuki couldn't figure out where she got from since it didn't look like she had any place to hold them on her slender body.

Aimi continued to stare warily at her opponent as she stared right back, seemingly trying to figure out how she had gotten from point A – the Hyuuga-like stance five feet away – to point B – the stance she was in right now – in a split second, while under attack to boot. Aimi, of course, wasn't about to tell her that she had sweep kicked her and had gotten into position before the girl could gather herself again. When Itsuki's eyes flashed in annoyance, Aimi decided that it would be best to end the fight quickly, since if she let the fight drag on her opponent really could become a problem, especially if she started to lose control of herself and attacked to kill; which wasn't the point of the fight, although attacking to kill wasn't against the rules.

Quickly she pushed herself off into a roll, and stopped in front of Itsuki in time to swing one of the daggers at the other girl's legs, which Itsuki barely managed to dodge, although a slim cut was left on both legs. Following along with the momentum swing the dagger had brought, Aimi moved her body so she could strike with the other dagger, and grinned in satisfaction when Itsuki hissed softly from the pain that tore at her cut up legs (the second strike had gone in deeper, like she had expected to happen).

--

At that point, from Shikamaru's point of view the fight had clearly been one-sided; Aimi had done all of the attacking, while Itsuki had done her best to even dodge, and didn't even get much of a chance to defend herself against the onslaught that was her opponent. After a few more minutes of the "one-sided" fighting went on, he had been sure that Aimi would've won. But what happened next surprised him, and probably ended up shocking everyone else there as well.

--

Aimi couldn't quite tell you what went wrong, but the instant she felt a sharp, burning pain in her lower back she knew something wasn't right. She had been so effortlessly winning, then…what? A sudden attack she knew nothing about, and somehow hadn't been able to pick up on? But…not once did Itsuki even get close enough to attack her back; heck, she hadn't even actually been close enough to attack her _front_! So…what had happened?

"Not feelin' too great, are we?" Itsuki said, mockery evident in her voice. "You're probably wonderin' what happened, huh? Well, like I'd tell you when clearly it tilts this fight in my favor!"

Aimi grimaced in disgust as she forced herself to stand, all the while trying to ignore the numbing pain in her lower back. If only she could figure out what her opponent was doing…but how?

Suddenly words hit her; something that Neji-sensei had told them early on in their time together, something that he clearly had been reluctant to say, but said all the same.

"_Although it's a shameful way to fight, sometimes you must take advantage of your opponent's cockiness after they knock you down a couple times; act like you're injured more than you truly are and become a reckless fighter to give yourself time to come up with a plan, or learn what you need to. Make sure your injuries _look_ bad; you don't want to be found out, especially on a mission."_

She narrowed her eyes slightly and forced a grimace on her face as she quickly pushed off the ground, one hand reaching down to open the weapon pouch that was tied to her leg. When her free fingers that weren't holding her dagger curled around a couple shuriken, she swiftly pulled them out and threw them all in one step, then spun and threw the dagger that was in her opposite hand, all of which Itsuki managed to avoid, the smirk from before still in place.

Repeating this action several times over the next couple of minutes left Aimi weaponless, since she had tossed not only her two daggers – her most prized possessions – but each and every shuriken and kunai that she had had in her arsenal. She hissed softly, her eyes still locked on Itsuki's form, as she reached down to rub her lower back, which had started to burn a lot more than before with each movement she had made, and now it was practically unbearable; she had noticed in her last round that her legs were weakening, attesting to the fact that she _definitely_ had a lumbar spine injury (but again, she couldn't figure out _how_).

Itsuki suddenly dashed at her while dodging all the scattered weapons on ground, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. Aimi for her part took another stance, her legs shaky underneath her. Before she had the chance to command her body to move – whether in retreat or defense – Itsuki was already in front of her, her left leg darting out to strike her in the stomach, which instead landed squarely on Aimi's right femur instead, since her legs had started to give out on her and she had ended up stumbling back to try and catch herself.

Aimi fell hard to the ground, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes as she glanced down at her leg. As she tried to stand black spots appeared in her view, causing her to lean against the wall behind her and assess the damage that had been done to her leg. It hurt most definitely far more than how her lower back felt. When she attempted to step on it pain shot up her body and she had to hold back a gasp.

The whole thing about Neji-sensei telling them that it was a validly-shameful way to fight to fake your injuries? Yeah, that wouldn't work here, since even if she wanted to she couldn't block out the searing pain that now was her clearly broken – possibly worse – leg, and the problem she had with her lower back, which was making her lose control of her lower body entirely. She couldn't fake worse; doing so would put her on the ground and probably make her appear unconscious; and was something she definitely didn't want.

Aimi clenched her jaw, knowing full well that her body wouldn't be able to take much more of this, meaning that she would have to end the fight _now_, or more than her leg would be shattered and unusable. Ignoring the searing pain shooting through her leg, Aimi stood fully and launched herself at Itsuki once more in hopes of getting one more hit in before having to call it quits. But before she got too far, Itsuki was there again, this time sweep kicking her legs out from under her and immediately kicking her body into the air.

She couldn't fight it in the state that she currently was in, and could do nothing else but look on as Itsuki appeared by her side in mid-air, then spun quickly to build up momentum to kick her back down again. The kick hurt, launching her quickly toward the ground below; what made the landing worse than just hitting the ground was the fact that her head caught the wall, making a soft 'snap' sound and causing large black splotches to enter her vision instead of the previous tiny black dots from when she had initially tried to set her leg down.

Her whole body hurt; she couldn't move much except to follow Itsuki's movements as she landed on the ground on the opposite side of the battle area and walk toward her through the field of weapons once more. When the girl reached the middle of all the weapons, Aimi forced her arms to move, her body protesting all the way, and begun forming seals; the name of the technique she was using she whispered quietly enough so no one could hear besides herself.

From where Shikamaru was standing it looked to him like something TenTen knew, and watched quietly as all the weapons that had been scattered lifted themselves off the ground and were hurled in Itsuki's direction; effectively catching her off-guard and causing her to stop walking. Before she knew it the weapons – which Shikamaru now could see had a wire attached to them – wrapped themselves around the girl, binding her in the middle of the battle area and leaving her immobile; a single dagger was situated just in front of her throat, as if waiting for orders to slice her throat.

It was waiting for orders…orders which never came.

Aimi shakily stood, her body leaning against the wall she had landed against. Her gaze landed on Itsuki's bound form, then locked onto the girl's frightened eyes. Wryly she smiled as she took a hesitant step, and then said, "I…give up."

A collective gasp was heard from the crowd from above, who had been certain that Aimi would win now that she clearly had the upper hand. The wry grin stayed on Aimi's face as she collapsed and whispered, "That's all I…had left…"

The weapons that had been surrounding Itsuki fell harmlessly to the ground, and a very shocked Itsuki followed soon after, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Shikamaru stared in surprise for a couple seconds before slowly walking to Aimi and knelt beside her body. He could see the rapidly spreading bruises that were both on her shattered leg and neck, and instantly knew that Aimi had made the right choice to give in; if she had been able to do anymore it wouldn't have ended very well for her at all.

Clearing his throat he stood and looked up at the spectators. Quietly he muttered "smart girl" to himself, before shouting, "Winner, Murakami Itsuki!"

--

That fight he'd never be able to forget, although it had been brutal to watch. Or…maybe that was why it stuck so clearly in his mind, because it had been brutal and had shown Aimi's determination to win as clear as day? The corner of Shikamaru's mouth lifted ever-so-slightly as he gently squeezed the girl's arm through the sheets. She had done amazingly well, and would definitely have won if it hadn't been for those three major injuries she had gotten during the course of the fight which had rendered her mostly immobile.

The door slammed open behind him, and he turned in surprise to see Keiichi and Hiroshi, who were breathing hard like they had ran all the way to the hospital from wherever they had been.

"How is…she doing?" Hiroshi asked quietly, his eyes softening as soon as they landed on the beaten form of his teammate.

"She's sleeping right now, but she's expected to make a full recovery." Shikamaru replied, and watched as the two boys breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. Feeling the need to say more, he added, "She did very well and is unexpectedly good at strategy; I probably wouldn't have thought to set up that trap at the end at an earlier date. But…she's a little reckless with it, though, since it landed her here."

Hiroshi smiled slightly, and said, "She's always been like that. You should see her when we're on missions with Neji-sensei; she's a lot more reckless then." He went quiet for a few seconds before adding, "She's not…particularly strong, and her body's really fragile, but she's definitely the smartest person I know."

Keiichi immediately nodded in agreement, bringing a small smile to Shikamaru's lips. After a few moments of silence Shikamaru sighed, then nodded at the two boys before heading toward the door. They probably wanted some time alone with their fallen teammate, since clearly she meant a lot to both of them. As he quietly opened the door another thought hit him, before he mentally swished it away; they wouldn't pull anything in front of Aimi's sick bed, since it wouldn't have been right to fight amongst themselves when their friend was hospitalized right in front of them. Sighing as he closed the door behind him, he said, "Don't forget that the tournament starts at noon in two hours, you guys. Don't spend too much time here."

When Shikamaru ended up outside, he tilted his head toward the sky and was disappointed to see not a cloud in sight, before he sighed and began walking down the street, his hands dug deep into his pockets. He honestly would've preferred to have stayed with Aimi, but since her teammates had came and he left, he now had nothing better to do than to wander around town for the next to two hours, making him groan softly in annoyance.

"Oiii! Shikamaru! Wanna have lunch with us?"

Shikamaru turned upon hearing his named called, and raised an eyebrow as Sakura, Naruto, Lee, and TenTen came into view. "If it's going to be ramen, no thanks. I've had too much ramen in the past week."

"It's not." Sakura smiled, a soft chuckle slipping out. "We're having barbeque; Lee and TenTen's treat."

Shikamaru sighed, figuring that he couldn't deny good – free – food. Very slightly he nodded and followed the group to the barbeque restaurant, which they quickly arrived at and sat down. After ordering what meat they wanted, the four he was accompanying entered a heated discussion, which he, with a wide yawning, blocked out. Only when he heard TenTen say "Neji probably would want to know what happened to Aimi-chan…but since we don't know where he is, we can't tell him…" did he look up and see Sakura staring at him from the corner of her eye.

For a few seconds they stared, before Shikamaru sighed and broke the eye contact as the meat was delivered to their table. Minutes passed as the meat was put on the hot plate in front of them to cook, and when a few pieces were done he sighed again and awkwardly stood. "I'll take it to go; I have some things I have to do before the tournament starts."

After quite a few protests to his leaving, Shikamaru stepped out of the building, a small bag of cooked meat in hand, and sighed before he turned to begin walking home to report to Neji what had happened to his female genin.

--

When Shikamaru arrived home, several pieces of the meat had been eaten, and several more were still in the bag waiting. Immediately his eyes landed on a slightly surprise Neji, who was seated on the couch, and closed the door behind him before he went to join the other boy. Awkwardly he set the bag between them and stared at the ground before beginning. "Keiichi and Hiroshi are doing really well; they're in the actual tournament later today."

Neji nodded, and "hmm"ed softly in understanding, his gaze landing on the bag. When Shikamaru motioned for him to take it, he questioned, "And Aimi?"

Shikamaru unconsciously clenched his fists, before sighing again. "She…lost, and is in the hospital with a neck fracture and a shattered femur, along with various other injuries. But she's supposed to recover well, which we should be grateful for." Neji didn't respond, his hand bringing one of the pieces of meat to his mouth, making Shikamaru suddenly feel even more uncomfortable than before. Quickly he added, "You're a good sensei, Neji. Aimi's fight's proof enough of that, since she apparently was really bad before you got a hold of her."

Neji shook his head before quietly saying, "No…Aimi was the one who fought, not me."

Shikamaru unconsciously stiffened and stood, his head turned away from Neji. "I should be getting back now. They might need me early, which is a pain but…"

Neji tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement, to which Shikamaru sighed again and headed for the door. When his hand hit the door knob he paused, and murmured, "Her room's 319, if you want to visit her."

Just as he had been about to step out, he heard Neji say "Nara, wait", which stopped him immediately, and made him turn toward the other boy in curiosity. When Neji had his attention, he said, "Kei and Hiro…don't let them fight during the tournament."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, before saying, "The slots have already been decided, and I can't change who fights who. It's a pain in the ass in this situation, but there's nothing I can do about if it they _do_ end up fighting."

Neji went quiet for a few seconds before he sighed. "Then if they do fight, stop it before it gets too bad; with Kei as he is right now, that's definitely something that would happen."

When Neji said no more, Shikamaru nodded and continued his way out the door and toward the stadium where the rest of the chuunin exams were to take place. As he stepped away from the building he couldn't help but think that Neji was indeed a good sensei, and clearly cared dearly about his genin and didn't want to see any of them go through any sort of painful situation, be it physical or emotional.

--

A couple hours later, Shikamaru found himself, paper in hand, in the middle of the very same stadium he had taken his chuunin exam fight against Temari in, a million and one beady eyes staring down at him. Awkwardly he cleared his throat and spoke into the mic he had on him. "We'll now begin the final part of the chuunin exams. It will be tournament style, and we've already paired up the fighters." Carelessly he held up the paper although he knew no one could see it from the distance they were at before he continued. "Each victor will fight each other until there is only one left. Now I'll read the names off of who will fight each other."

Shikamaru turned the paper so he could read it, then cleared his throat again. "The first fight will be Takahashi Kenta versus Murakami Itsuki. The second will be Natsume Masao versus Tomokazu Kazuki. The third will be Takahashi Keiichi" - …what? That sounded funny to him. Hadn't he just said 'Takahashi'…? – "versus Tamakazi Mitsuru. Fourth, Arakaki Hiroshi versus Kawabata Mahiru. The last fight will be Adachi Nobuo versus Yonokawa Tetsuo. Now, to get this tournament going, will our first pair please come down?"

The first round fights he didn't actually pay much attention to, only enough to announce the winners, since his mind was still on the bedridden girl he had visited just hours before, and whether or not Neji actually would go and visit her like he had suggested (which he doubted, since he wasn't really sure if Neji was ready to go out or not). Only when he heard Genma next to him announce that the first round was over did he shake himself out of his thoughts and look over the chart that Genma had taken upon himself to fill out, since he had apparently been to out of it to do it himself.

Immediately his eyes widened in slight horror at what he saw, and couldn't help but close his eyes and open them to see if he was seeing things, or if what he saw on the page was really there. In the second round, the two people that Neji had said he didn't want to fight were fighting, and there was nothing he could do about it. Reluctantly he said, "The second round will start now. Takahashi Kenta versus Natsume Masao."

When the two fighters came down, he started the match, this time trying harder at paying attention to the fight going on in front of him instead of allowing his mind to wander. But he couldn't help it, and almost jerked in surprise when he saw Kenta go flying across the arena. This Masao boy…he could easily fight on par with Kenta, who hadn't even gotten _hit_ during any of his previous matches!

Yet, before he knew what happened, Kenta was standing over the fallen body of Masao, his hitai-ate lowered to his neck and his arm wiping sweat from his forehead. _Somehow_ he had won in the last minute that he had not really been paying attention, although the last thing he had seen was Masao winning, not the other way around.

Groaning softly to himself, he stared down at the page again and even more reluctantly before said, "Takahashi Keiichi versus…Arakaki Hiroshi."

Keiichi was the first to reach the ground, and blinked in surprise when he saw Kenta standing in front of him and wasn't making any move to continue his way out of the arena. Before Keiichi could ask what he wanted, Kenta smiled wryly and rested a hand on Keiichi's shoulder. "Good luck, Keiin. Should be a good fight, ne?"

Keiichi fumed a few seconds as Kenta walked by, before he turned and almost shouted about Kenta _not_ calling him "Keiin", before he stopped himself in surprise. Hiroshi had come out of the same tunnel he had, and was staring at Kenta in surprise before Kenta waved at him childishly and continued on his way again, saying nothing to him like he had done with Keiichi.

From where Shikamaru was standing he could see Keiichi clench his fist, curiosity and worry both surfacing. If what he thought of Keiichi and Kenta's relationship was true – and he should by now, since it had been _really_ obvious, now that there was so few fighters left – then Keiichi didn't like Hiroshi and Kenta being together. But that part of the relationship he couldn't understand one bit.

When the two fighters stood in front of him and were facing each other, Shikamaru looked them both over before he sighed and raised his hand. "Begin!"

Immediately Hiroshi grinned and put his hands behind his head. "Oi, Kei! This is like those training matches we have all the time, huh?"

To Shikamaru's surprise Keiichi rushed Hiroshi and viciously punched the other boy in face, causing Hiroshi to fly backwards. Keiichi then narrowed his eyes; his fists clenched, and he said coldly, "No, it's not."

Hiroshi spun his body and landed against the stadium wall on his feet, then pushed off hard and ended up landing just a few feet from where Keiichi was standing. Carelessly he wiped the blood from his mouth, the playful grin from before gone. "Look, Kei. Whatever problems you've got with Kenta isn't my fault."

Keiichi clenched his jaw and attacked again; this time Hiroshi managed to dodge and counter, effectively pushing Keiichi away a few feet before the other boy attacked again, this time his leg flying around to kick. Quickly Hiroshi put up his arm to block then grabbed Keiichi's leg with one hand and going to punch with the other. The hit landed, but not before Keiichi turned his body to kick Hiroshi with his other leg, catching the other boy off-guard and knocking him to the ground with a blow to the head.

As he stood, his hand reaching up to massage the spot where he had been kicked, Hiroshi forced a smile on his face and said, "C'mon, Kei. Can't we just enjoy this fight? Does it _really_ have to be over something that I have no control over?"

Keiichi didn't respond and instead attacked once more, making Hiroshi sigh and block again. Repeatedly he tried placating the obviously pissed off boy, and failed each time. After a few more minutes of the clearly one-sided fight – since Hiroshi wasn't doing much attacking – he sighed again and said, this time with annoyance in his voice, "Why don't _you _tell _him_ what's wrong? He's _your_ brother after all, not mine!"

Keiichi stopped in surprise, the arm he had had held up for a punch falling to his side. He opened his mouth to respond before he closed it again, his eyes darting to the ground. For a few seconds his gaze remained locked on the ground, before he raised his narrowed eyes. "Then what does that make _me_, huh?!"

Quickly he pushed off the ground and attacked Hiroshi once more, this time catching Hiroshi – who had been frozen in shock by Keiichi's words – off-guard and pushing him far enough back to ram him into the wall. Hiroshi raised his head slightly and smiled wryly again, and muttered something that Shikamaru couldn't hear.

Keiichi's eyes widened in surprise, before they narrowed again in anger; his fists clenched as he relentlessly began to beat the other boy against the wall, not giving his teammate any time to defend himself, until Hiroshi couldn't stand anymore and ended up slipping to the ground, which was dotted with crimson splotches of blood.

Keiichi took a step back as Hiroshi shakily stood, his eyes pointed toward the ground, his fingers splayed on the wall to hold himself steady. "If…letting you beat the shit out of me means that I'm telling the truth about what I just said, then so be it."

Shikamaru blinked in confusion as Keiichi reared back for another attack, and widened his eyes in surprise when he saw that Keiichi's next attack was riddled with chakra. Before he could do much else besides stand there and stare, the punch landed squarely on Hiroshi's chest, immediately causing the boy to spew out a lot of blood. Hiroshi then raised his head again, albeit this time slower than before, and said weakly, "I'll even…give up this…m-match, if it'll…make you h-happy, Kei."

"Damn it, Hiroshi! How the hell would that make me happy?!" Keiichi shouted, his eyes narrowing further as he focused his chakra into his fist once again, fully intent on aiming it at Hiroshi's head this time instead of his body.

When a gasp of horror came from some of the younger girls who were watching, Shikamaru knew that it was time for the match to end, or else Keiichi would do something Shikamaru _knew_ the boy would end up regretting later. Quickly Shikamaru stretched his shadow to lock onto Hiroshi's, and just managed to pull the boy to the side before Keiichi's attack landed on the wall where Hiroshi had been; when the wall exploded and a huge dent was left, Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief that he had managed to get to the boy in time. Glancing at Hiroshi to make sure the boy was alright, and that no flying rocks would harm him, he released control of the boy's body and appeared at Keiichi's back, and rested a hand on the red head's shoulder. "This fight's over, Keiichi." Turning his attention to the crowd he said, his voice devoid of excitement, "Winner, Takahashi Keiichi."

Keiichi's face slackened in shock, before he turned his gaze to the bloody mess that was his teammate. Slowly, as if in a trance, he shrugged of Shikamaru's hand and made his way to Hiroshi's body, before he knelt down beside it and stared into the other boy's empty eyes. Hesitantly he reached out to touch Hiroshi's cheek, and then widened his eyes in surprise when the other boy flinched, his eyes clenching shut. After a few seconds Hiroshi opened his eyes, and saw Keiichi's hand was still in the same place it had been before. Smiling awkwardly he whispered, "Sorry…Kei. I don't…know why I just…did that."

Immediately a stretcher came to pick up Hiroshi, leaving Keiichi to sit the same position from before, his body still from the shock. Shikamaru stared at the boy a few seconds before he walked over to him and gently grabbed onto his shoulders to help him stand. When Keiichi showed no signs of being able to stand on his own, Shikamaru carefully picked him up and glanced down into the boy's eyes, which were wide and, for all intents and purposes, dead. As he stood and carried the boy out of the arena, a voice came onto the intercom and said "we'll take a ten-minute intermission at this moment, so be sure to be back in your seats before the next match!" for which Shikamaru was grateful, since it would give him time to see if Keiichi would recover from realizing what he had just been about to do.

A couple minutes later Shikamaru arrived in the medical ward, and was greeted by a worried Sakura, who had just turned away from instructing the medi-nins to quickly take Hiroshi to the hospital. Her eyes shining from sorrow, she softly said, "According to the way the tournament's set up, you'll be fighting again, Kei. I'll heal your body so you'll be ready, but it'll be up to you to see if you can fight again or not."

Keiichi didn't respond, and Sakura sighed before beginning to heal his wounds. When she was done with that she stared at the boy for a few seconds before enveloping him in a hug. Quietly she whispered, "I know you didn't mean to do it, Kei. Hiroshi's going to be fine…"

The next fight couldn't even be called that; Keiichi had barely even attacked at all, his mind still shocked by what he had done, while his body simply reacted to the situation he was in. Before even five minutes passed by Keiichi was being carted off by medics, this time Sakura with them.

Keiichi's opponent snorted in disgust, his arms crossing over his chest. "Damn weakling, I hate guys like him. It must've just been a fluke for the bastard to have gotten so far."

"Winner, Yonokawa Tetsuo!" Shikamaru turned toward the muttering boy, and then said, "You probably don't want it, but I have to ask the troublesome question anyway or I'll get in trouble. You want to rest any before your next match?"

"Nah. Didn't even break a sweat against that last guy."

Shikamaru nodded as he tried his best to keep the annoyance he felt toward the Otogakure nin, and couldn't help but shoot a withering glance at the current kage, Sasuke, before clearing his throat. "Final match: Takahashi Kenta versus Yonokawa Tetsuo!"

When Kenta arrived on ground level, Shikamaru widened his eyes in surprise at the serious look on the normally childish boy's face. His eyes were empty, making Shikamaru wonder just _what_ the boy was thinking after his brother had been so heartlessly destroyed, and a pair of shoes was slung over his shoulder. As Kenta neared him, Shikamaru said, "The top medic, Sakura, is going to be taking care of your brother and Hiroshi. I just thought you'd want to know."

Kenta nodded his thanks, his expression not changing at Shikamaru's words.

Tetsuo scoffed, a smirk settling into place. "That wimp was your brother? You're probably no better than he was; another damn fluke!"

Kenta didn't respond, and instead sat down and begun to change shoes, from his usual black and red ones to the ones he had brought with him, which had a leather bottom and was silky in appearance. When done with that he stood, his eyes rising to lock onto Tetsuo's. "I show no mercy to those who slander my brother's name and nearly kill him when he clearly was in no condition to be fighting."

Tetsuo snorted, the smirk widening. "A _good_ shinobi would be ready for any fight, regardless of what happened before. So obviously that means that the idiot's a weakling, and should just quit tryin' to become a chuunin, since he's too pathetic to! He hadn't even been anywhere _near_ worth fighting!"

Kenta slowly undid the button on his jacket, then slipped it off before he carefully folded it and held it in his arms. His eyes were cold as he spoke again. "You want a fight?" Carelessly Kenta threw his jacket off to the side, causing everyone watching to jump in surprise when the wall exploded from the impact. "You got one."

Shikamaru watched as Kenta reattached his staff to his body, tied his hair back, and got into the stance he always used at the beginning of a fight. So…Lee weight trained Kenta like he had been, huh? Clearing his throat, Shikamaru raised his arms and said, "Begin!"

Immediately Kenta attacked, stunning everyone by his sudden burst of speed compared to what he had shown in all of his previous fights. Clearly the boy had been _majorly_ holding back, and now was releasing everything to enact revenge on the boy who had so demonically defeated his brother. Very little time at all flew by before Kenta finished the fight, which had been taken into the air by a swift kick to Tetsuo's back, with a swinging down of his chakra-filled staff, causing Tetsuo to slam into the ground. The boy didn't stand again; to be perfectly honest Shikamaru wouldn't have been surprised if the boy had _died_, or had been knocked unconscious from the impact.

When Kenta touched ground, his hands working to put his staff back in its place, he said, "Winner, Takahashi Kenta!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Kenta sighed, his hands dropping to his sides as he finished putting his staff back. When he locked gazes with Shikamaru, the jounin noticed that the boy wasn't excited like most would've been had they just won the chuunin exams; his expression was still empty like before, his eyes still cold. Shikamaru nodded at him, mentally telling him to go visit his brother, before turning his attention back to the crowd. "The chuunin exams are now over! If you would like to see who has been promoted, please come back here tomorrow! Remember, if you had gotten to _at least_ the second round of preliminaries you are still eligible for promotion!"

Shikamaru sighed as the crowd begun clearing out, and tilted his head back so he could stare at the sky. A couple clouds now were rolling by, but he couldn't enjoy them; what was so enjoyable about watching the carefree clouds, when he couldn't stop worrying about the team he had adopted? Stretching to pop a kink in his neck, he yawned and decided to follow after Kenta, figuring that visiting the three would be a lot better than going somewhere else and stewing in his thoughts.

--

**A/N:** Annnd, the exams are over! Wrap-up is next chapter, along with a couple other things with the genin, then the story will refocus on Neji again, with some fun, possibly startling information!

To be perfectly honest I had been reluctant to write Keiichi and Hiroshi's fight, for the simple reason that I felt that I'd screw up the emotion running between the two. So I shortened it so I wouldn't end up doing that. :Sweatdrop:

So what did you think?

**Read and review!**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hello all again! Hope you're doin' well! :) I return with another new chapter, a day early! Needless to say it's long, which I guess all the remaining chapters are going to be…:grinz: Oh, er…I kinda lied about Neji being in this chapter. XD Oops. It was purely accidental, Iassureyou!

Thanks for the reviews! They make my day. :)

Oh yes…some of the comments left by people made me laugh…in delight. :) Someone guessed something that's gonna happen, and someone else doesn't know that what they want I already had in mind to do XD It twas way awesome.

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Seven_

On the way to the hospital, after losing sight of Kenta who apparently had _ran_ there, Shikamaru had run into one of the other exam supervisors, who had told him that they had a meeting with Tsunade in an hour; a meeting that he most certainly didn't want to go to, but knew he had to since it was a requirement for them to all give their two cents on the fighters and who should be promoted for the final decision. The promotion to be perfectly honest was the last thing on his mind, but it wasn't something he could avoid without being subjected to Tsunade's wrath (hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that). Thankfully, however, the hospital was only a few minute's walk away from the hokage's office, so he could take his leisure time in visiting his adopted team members.

When he arrived he quickly checked in, got Keiichi and Hiroshi's room numbers from the desk lady, and proceeded on his way to Aimi's room since she was the closest by being on the first floor rather than the second like the other two were. For the few minutes it took to walk the length of the hallway he couldn't help but notice the stark white of the walls, the ever-clean floors, the slightly sour scent of antiseptic…

Ever since that time when he had first become a chuunin he had avoided coming here again, and had to mentally shake his head to wrench himself out of the flashback his mind was bringing upon himself. This wasn't the time for that kind of thing; he was here for genin who were recovering and were _alive_ and safe, not _friends_ who he had no idea if they were going to survive or not…

His feet stopped in front of Aimi's room, and Shikamaru rested his head against the wall for a few seconds before letting out a breath of air to calm himself before letting himself in. To his surprise Aimi was awake this time and propped up, the neck brace still in place and a small bowl of yogurt resting on her lap tray. At his entry Aimi glanced at the door, and grinned in delight.

"Shika-sensei! I know _you'll_ believe me, since no one else did!"

Shikamaru blinked as the girl's grin only grew, and felt the corner of his mouth tug upward in response. "Believe what?"

"I _know_ it wasn't a dream! Neji-sensei really _did_ visit me!" The girl spooned herself a small amount of the creamy yogurt before she continued with excitement still in her tone. "He said he was proud of me and that I'll get better quick!"

So Neji _had_ visited Aimi? Huh…he hadn't actually been serious about Neji coming out of the house, since he hadn't been sure if the jounin could handle it, but apparently he could've; or was it because he knew the streets would be empty, making it less of a threat to walk around in broad daylight and be recognized? He'd have to ask the boy about it later when he got home that night.

The quirk of his mouth blossomed into a half-smile at the girl's enthusiasm as he winked. "I'll believe it wasn't a dream. Neji must've known what happened somehow."

"But…how?" Aimi's eyes widened minutely, before her already impossibly big grin grew further. "Maybe he had been watching my fight!"

"Mmmm…nah, I don't think so." To make up for the sudden disappointed look that crossed Aimi's face he added, "But hey, maybe he just knew you were here because he cared about you and could sense it?"

"Maaaaybe…" Aimi's tone grew quiet, her brow scrunching. Her eyes looked troubled as she spoke again. "Ne…what happened to Hiro-kun and Kei-kun? Nobody's told me anything and they act like I can't hear them talking and- and when I ask what's wrong, they always try to change the subject on me. They're my teammates…my _friends_! I deserve to know, right? You think so, don't you?"

Shikamaru stared at the young girl, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes from frustration, before he sighed softly and rested a hand on her shoulder. "They…fought in the tournament, and things…went wrong." He said quietly, his hand squeezing softly. "Keiichi…he- he almost killed Hiroshi, but I know he didn't mean to."

"He- what? Of _course_ he didn't mean to!" Aimi's voice raised an octave, belying her sudden annoyance. "He'd _never_ want to kill Hiro-kun! Hiro-kun is Kei-kun's most important person so he- of course he didn't mean to!"

'Most important person'…? Was that what their relationship was…?

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow. "What…do you mean?"

Aimi widened her eyes as she blushed, suddenly realizing what she had just said. Ducking her head she quickly said, "W-well…he…a-ano…I-I'm just…guessing, you know? Just a…guess!"

Shikamaru's eyebrow remained raised, as an amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Clearly the girl knew more about the boys' relationship than she wanted to admit, and didn't seem like she felt it was her place to tell about it. Yawning widely – mostly for show – he took a step back and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Well…it's a pain, but I only have an hour here with you three. I should probably go visit the boys; if I have time I'll come back and update you on their condition, okay?"

At Aimi's enthusiastic nod he chuckled softly and carelessly waved his hand behind him as he headed out the door, and softly pulled it shut behind him. With a quiet sigh he headed for the stairs, deciding that he'd visit whoever ended up being closer from the way he was coming, since there were multiple ways to get up to the second floor which ended up in different places. It didn't occur to him that he might have ran into Kenta until the boy walked toward him, coming out of the very staircase that Shikamaru was headed for.

Unconsciously he stopped and stared, his eyes focused on the slightly troubled, slightly satisfied expression on Kenta's face before he sighed and raised a hand in greeting. "How's Keiichi?"

"Keiin's…" Kenta paused, his eyes flickering momentarily before he grinned and locked his hands behind his head. "Keiin's Keiin. The brat's how he always is: a pain in the ass."

Shikamaru smiled mirthlessly, mind noting that his own smile reflected the fake one on Kenta's lips. "And Hiroshi?"

"I didn't see Hiro. Something told me that it would've been a bad idea to." Kenta's grin turned into a frown momentarily before the boy shrugged and began walking again. "But whatever, I don't care. It's not like I won't see him when he gets out anyway."

Shikamaru nodded, not entirely in agreement since he couldn't really say what was going to happen after they got out of the hospital. He stayed motionless as the boy walked by him, then sighed again and headed up the stairs. When he reached the top his eyes automatically went to lock on the number on nearest room's door, and saw that Keiichi's room would be closer than Hiroshi's, which, by the numbering, would be farther down the hall or even quite possibly down another one on the same floor.

Slowly he walked up to the boy's door, his footsteps heavy, his senses suddenly alert. As his hand descended on the door knob he paused, unsure if he should truly go through with visiting the boy or if he still needed time to be alone, and figured that if Keiichi had already been disturbed once – and the disturber still being alright, although seemingly a little ruffled – he wouldn't be _too_ much of an intruder.

His motions almost hesitant, he turned the knob and stepped inside far enough before he turned and quietly closed the door behind him, his gaze having yet to touch upon the red head who was lying down, his head propped by the hospital-issued pure white pillows. When Shikamaru did turn to face the boy and somehow found himself by said boy's bed, he was surprised to see Keiichi's eyes open and staring blankly at the ceiling; they didn't even twitch from Shikamaru's sudden appearance.

Awkwardly he rested a hand on the boy's exposed arm, his throat suddenly dry. Softly he asked, "How are you doing, Keiichi?"

Keiichi stayed quiet, seemingly as if he hadn't even heard Shikamaru's question. After a few minutes of silence snaked by, the boy's eyes turned to him, a small sigh slipping through his slightly cracked lips. "I'm alright…for the most part." When another moment's silence slipped by he added, "How're…the others doing?"

"Aimi's doing well- she's awake and talking. I just came from her room, actually." Shikamaru paused, his eyes straying to the white sheets that were wrinkled under Keiichi's arms then quietly added, "I haven't visited Hiroshi yet, though…"

"…I see." Keiichi replied softly, his gaze returning to the ceiling, his eyes locking onto the minutely peeling paint. Silence overcame the two again for a few minutes, before Keiichi turned his gaze to lock onto Shikamaru's, his eyes troubled and slightly crazed. "I didn't- I don't- I…I'd never want to kill him…"

"I know." Shikamaru said quietly as he carefully tore his gaze from Keiichi's and returned them to the sheets again, his hand unconsciously tightening slightly on the boy's arm.

When another couple minutes passed by in silence, Keiichi sighed, his eyes closing. "Can you…deliver a message to Hiroshi for me?"

Shikamaru blinked in momentary surprise before shrugging, his grip loosening. "Sure. What is it?"

To Shikamaru's surprise Keiichi turned his head away, his eyes locking onto a point Shikamaru couldn't see, a very blatant red color seeping into the genin's cheeks. "Can you tell- I mean…umm…can you tell Hiroshi that I'm…sorry, and that I-" Keiichi cut himself off, before continuing on in a quieter voice, but was still loud enough for Shikamaru to hear, "that I l-love him?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly in surprise, somehow managing to choke out the words "S-sure, I'll tell him" without sounding entirely _too_ shocked by the boy's blunt message. A sound of thanks came from Keiichi's throat, before Shikamaru stood on slightly shaky legs and nodded at him. "I'll…be going, then, if that's all you wanted to tell him."

When Keiichi nodded in response, Shikamaru left the boy's room and began heading toward Hiroshi's, both Aimi's words from before and Keiichi's message spinning in his head. So…was what Aimi said true? Did they _really_ have _that_ kind of relationship, and he had been too damn dense to notice it? Or…was he totally taking the message and Aimi's 'his most important person' out of context? Snorting softly at himself, he mentally waved the thoughts away. Thinking about it wouldn't help, since he hadn't talked to Hiroshi about it yet (and he definitely was going to do that, if only to cure his curiosity of the matter).

A couple minutes later he found himself in front of Hiroshi's open door, and paused upon seeing a nurse seated by the head of Hiroshi's bed, and spoon in one hand and a bowl of what he presumed to be soup in the other. For a few seconds he watched, before he awkwardly cleared his throat, effectively catching the attention of the two in the room. "Er…I'll come back later, if you're busy."

The nurse smiled slightly before she put the empty spoon back into the bowl and set it on a manila colored tray, which she picked up upon standing. "No, come on in. I just finished."

As the nurse left the room and closed the door behind her, Shikamaru glanced at Hiroshi's uncovered body, and was surprised to not see as may bandages as he thought he would around the boy's chest, and even less on his arms and head. Turning his gaze to Hiroshi's eyes he said, "Seems like you're healing well."

Hiroshi grinned. "Sakura-nee-san's a really good medic! She said I should be out of here for a quick physical therapy session by the end of the week if I don't move around too much."

Shikamaru "hmm"ed softly in response, his arms automatically going to cross over his chest. "I have a message from Keiichi for you."

Hiroshi's expression went through so many changes in the few seconds after Shikamaru had spoken, making the jounin feel as if he had been seeing things, before Hiroshi reluctantly spoke, his voice a pitch slightly higher than normal and full of phony disinterest. "Oh, yeah? What'd he say?"

Shikamaru's hand reached up to rub the back of his neck as he averted his gaze. "He said he was sorry, and that he loved you."

He chanced a glance at Hiroshi's reaction, and watched the surprise that spread across the boy's face. After a few seconds the surprise was followed by the spreading of a large grin, than a small laugh, and then the victorious sounding words "I _knew_ Kei couldn't resist my charm for long!"

Shikamaru curtly raised an eyebrow, the curiosity gnawing at him. "What is Keiichi to you, anyway?"

Hiroshi blinked owlishly, before saying, "Hm…saying he's just a friend won't convince you, huh?" When Shikamaru shook his head, Hiroshi laughed then added, "He's my little brother. Or, rather, half-brother."

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly at the words "half-brother", then allowed the corner of his mouth to lift slightly. "Little?"

"I'm not 12, if that's what you're thinking." Hiroshi smirked slightly as he waved away Shikamaru's surprised expression. "I'm actually 13, almost 14. I was held back a year at the academy 'coz I sucked badly. I think I kinda already told you that though, Shika-sensei."

Shikamaru grunted in understanding, and then said, "So Kenta's your brother too? How old's he?"

"Yeah, but it's…complicated." Hiroshi's eyes hardened slightly, before he added, "He's 12 like Kei is. They're twins, after all."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, his mind automatically producing an image of both boys for him to examine. After a few moments of examination he sighed. "If I picture Kenta with long hair I can see it."

Hiroshi laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement at Shikamaru's words.

After a couple second's silence slipped by, Shikamaru said, "So what was the fight earlier about?"

Hiroshi sighed, his eyes lowering to the bunched sheets by his feet. "You're practically asking me for my whole life story, Shika-sensei, but I'll give you the short version instead."

Hiroshi looked like he was fighting for the right words to say, before he sighed again, his hands clenching the hospital-issued pajama bottoms. "We have the same mother; I was…conceived through an affair. For an entire year my mother's husband thought that I was his, until Kenta and Keiichi were born and he saw the difference immediately; I didn't look anything like either child, and I didn't really look like my mother or her husband, either. And when she confessed that she _did_ cheat on him, she got kicked out of the house and was torn from her newborns, which apparently were handed over to my mother's husband's _mistress_, who had raised children before since she was a midwife an' all.

But anyway. When we started to get older, some problems apparently sprang up between Kenta and Kei and their relationship with their father that had Kei out searching for the mother he knew was out there and for Kenta to be basically at their father's beck and call. After a little while Kei _did_ find his mother, living with my family like now, and apparently never told Kenta that he had found her. I think that's when Kei started to 'hate' his brother for earning all the attention of their father, which he _had_ tried to get but failed, which I guess ended up making Kei get more attached to…me and our mother, who…showered him with love, I guess you could say."

Shikamaru couldn't help but snort at that statement, to which Hiroshi blushed and mumbled for him to shut up before continuing on.

"_Any_way. I met Kenta at the academy; he was in my class the year I was held back. I guess Kei started to see him as a threat to our relationship, since he started to pull me 'n' Kenta apart whenever we were together and he saw. Kei can get really jealous at times; it's actually pretty funny and kinda cute, especially since Kenta doesn't _know_ that we're all related, so Kei's 'brother-steal-brother' fear is totally unfounded." Hiroshi paused, his expression turning to one of deep thought, before he locked eyes with Shikamaru. "Do you want to know what I told Kei before he kinda lost it?"

Shikamaru shrugged, his back leaning against the wall behind him. "Sure."

"I told him that he knew what I meant when I said that Kenta wasn't my brother, and that I'd never replace him with anyone else; blood-related or not, and that I loved him too much to do something stupid like that." Hiroshi grinned victoriously once more, and then added, "I _knew_ Kei loved me back!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, a small chuckle slipping through. "The way you just said that made it sound weird, Hiroshi."

Hiroshi laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement like they had before.

Silence came again, pushing Shikamaru to ask the other question that had been bothering him so. "Does Keiichi not like me or something?"

Hiroshi blinked in surprise before he chuckled softly. "Nah…I don't think that's it. Kei's probably just jealous of you, Shika-sensei."

Shikamaru raised the other eyebrow. "Why?"

Hiroshi thought for a second, before saying, "Well, Neji-sensei used to talk a lot of a guy he knew that was the smartest person he knew, but was lazy as hell, indifferent to most situations, and tended to complain a lot about everything. But each and every time he'd go right around and say that he'd trust the person with his life, and that'd he'd follow the guy to the ends of the earth if he had to. And, well, since Neji-sensei didn't make a habit of praising us too much – he didn't want us to get pig-headed an' all – I think Kei started to crave it after hearing him praise this guy so much when it didn't really sound like he deserved it much." Hiroshi paused for a moment and then laughed. "Kei has the biggest crush on Neji-sensei that I've ever seen."

Shikamaru jerked in surprise at the bluntness of Hiroshi's statement, and then said, "Does it bother you?"

Hiroshi suddenly smirked, a challenging look entering his eye. "Which one? That my brother likes our sensei or that my brother's probably gay?" Shikamaru could do no more than blink before Hiroshi spoke again. "Kei 'n' I grew up around it. My sister used to tell us that it didn't matter if you loved a guy or girl- that life as a shinobi was too short to worry about such trivial things like gender. So…no, it doesn't bother me." Hiroshi's brow creased as he added, this time his voice dripping with annoyance, "But the sensei-thing is damn annoying at times. Kei can really become a kiss-ass when he's around Neji-sensei."

Shikamaru laughed softly, completely believing Hiroshi's last sentence. From the way Keiichi had spoken to him about 'not accepting him in place of Neji-sensei' and such, he could _definitely_ see the boy as a kiss-ass. Carelessly he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, before he tore himself away from the wall in surprise. Locking his gaze with Hiroshi's curious one, he groaned and said, "I gotta leave or I'm going to be late for a troublesome exam meeting with the hokage. I told Aimi that I'd visit her again, but…guess it can't be helped."

Hiroshi nodded in understanding before Shikamaru practically ran out of the room, the image of the hokage bashing him with an empty sake bottle – or something worse – working its way into his mind (those kind of images were actually very good motivation for the normally _un_motivated ninja).

When he arrived at the designated room, slightly winded but otherwise fine, he found the other exam supervisors standing outside waiting to be let in, allowing Shikamaru to let out a sigh of relief at not being late and being subjected to the horror that was Tsunade scorned. Just as he came to a stop the door opened, the cue for them to come into the room. After receiving a few looks of amusement from his fellow jounin and chuunin, Shikamaru followed them into the room, the door shutting behind them.

Already in the room – which, thankfully, was one of the congregation rooms that were used instead of Tsunade's cramped office – were the various kages from the other villages and Tsunade, who was seated at the head of the table, her body straight, her face composed (Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at her posture, knowing full well that she was fighting the urge to rest her chin in the palm of her hand and slouch in her seat like she normally always was in her office).

Shikamaru nodded slightly in Gaara and Sasuke's direction as he sat down in his respective seat, all the others following suit. When everyone was seated and waiting for the cue to begin, Tsunade cleared her throat. "Right now we're only going to go over suggestions that any of you may have for promotion, and then the kages and myself with decide on the final ones to be promoted, which will be announced tomorrow morning. So, let's begin."

--

_The Next Day_

"We have spent long and hard deciding on who deserved to become chuunin and who had some things to work on that would hinder their ability to perform at the expected chuunin level." Tsunade paused, her gaze scanning the large crowd gathered in the stadium, before she continued on. "We have finally settled on three genin that we found to be deserving of this honor, and will announce their names at this time." Silently she motioned for one of the others to begin, cheers ringing in her ears.

When no one else spoke up, Sasuke mentally sighed and cleared his throat. "The first I think is fairly obvious. He's strong and obviously very intelligent, and managed to get through several rounds without getting hit once. Even when matched up against the boy who almost killed his brother – which he got his revenge for – he didn't lose his cool and start attacking recklessly; he acted how he should've in that kind of situation- cold, detached, and finished the job quickly before his emotions overrode his judgment." Sasuke paused; his gaze scanning the crowd like Tsunade had done just moments before, and then said, "Would Takahashi Kenta come down to the stadium floor."

When Kenta touched ground, cheers surrounding them on all sides, he respectfully bowed before the four gathered and dutifully took the vest from Sasuke's hands, since he had been the one to announce his promotion. Sasuke then motioned for Kenta to stay on the ground before saying, "He was my main choice, but the others have decided on a couple others. So they'll talk now." Mentally he couldn't help but add, 'and good riddance. All this stiff talk's getting on my nerves.'

The next to speak was the Tsuchikage, who took a step forward to speak. "Our next decision was almost as easy to make as our first, and had actually done battle with Takahashi Kenta. He too is very intelligent and strong, but was also very resourceful and managed to be the only one to injure Kenta." The Tsuchikage chuckled, and then added, "For that alone he should be promoted, I should think. But he had had the misfortune _to_ have had to fight Kenta, and would've gone farther had the other boy not been in the exams. Now, would Natsume Masao please come down?"

Masao came down and repeated the same movement that Kenta had done, only this time receiving the regulated chuunin garb from the Tsuchikage – who, incidentally, was his village leader – instead of Sasuke. When done with that, he stood next Kenta, a matching grin on both of their faces.

Tsunade spoke again, her tone a little less serious and a little more caring than before. "Our final decision is someone I've talked to on occasion, and had watched her grow up under the care of her team leader. She is currently in the hospital with a neck fracture and a shattered femur, but is expected to make a full recovery. She, like the boys before her, is highly intelligent, although a less strong than they are. She is a quickly blooming strategist, rivaling that of some of the jounin I know personally," Her gaze shot to Shikamaru, a small smirk settling into place, before she continued, "and would have won her fight had she not receiving highly immobilizing injuries. Although she may be a little reckless at times, we have all unanimously agreed that she'd be the best one to promote as well.

Normally I would have her team leader come up to receive the vest for her, but he's currently out on clan business. So instead I'll have her substitute team leader come up to accept the honor. Nara Shikamaru, please come over to accept the promotion for Hiyashi Aimi."

Shikamaru couldn't keep the smile off his face as he stood next to Tsunade, who was beaming with pride at the hospitalized girl's promotion. He too couldn't be anything _but_ proud of her achievement, and vowed to tell her as soon as he possibly could; Neji as well.

--

A couple hours later Sakura found herself outside the hokage's office, some papers she wanted to go over with Tsunade in her hand. Just as she was going to knock on the door to announce her presence, shouting filtered through the door causing her to – purely unconsciously – shield her chakra so she wouldn't be noticed, and gently set her ear against the door. (She couldn't help it! She didn't normally go around eavesdropping on her shishou's conversations, but she had heard Neji's name being shouted and- she just couldn't help it!)

"That's what you said last time you were here, Hiashi-san! I'm starting to think that you're lying about where Neji's at and what he's doing!"

"I apologize for lying to you, hokage-sama. I suppose the truth is needed in this situation."

Sakura strained to listen through a few seconds of silence, then:

"I honestly cannot tell you where Neji is. He had been exiled from the clan approximately a week ago."

"What?! Why?!"

Hiashi skillfully dodged the question, and then said, "I wouldn't have done it under normal circumstances. His crimes were not very harsh, and wouldn't have been done again. When things started to get tight between him and the other head family members, however, the elders decided for Neji to be exiled to bring the calm back to the clan and, as the leader, I couldn't ignore their opinion and the general opinion of the family without being challenged and accused of favoring him because he was my nephew. When the night of the exile came, I did not activate the seal fully so he could live – if he had the will to – because he didn't deserve death."

Silence again; Tsunade was probably trying to take in all that Hiashi had told her. Then:

"I apologize again, hokage-sama, but I don't know where Neji is currently at."

Sakura's eyes widened as she tore off down the hallway, not caring if Tsunade and Hiashi could hear her from the other side of the door. She had to tell Neji what she had just heard, and quickly; she didn't know what such information would bring about, but she did know that Neji had had the exiling all wrong from the way he had described it to her, and _that_, above all else, needed to be fixed.

--

**A/N:** Yeah…it was going to be a tad longer, but these kinds of endings are much more fun. :)

**Read and review!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hallo! :) I realize this is…mucho late, but…I have mixed reasons. Half being the weather (not being able to get on 'coz of thunder storms), the other half being distracted by the K-Pop group Super Junior and awesome couples from Tamora Pierce books. XDD

On a more…positive note, I welcome the return of Neji in this chapter! Yay! XD

And…this chapter's dedicated to juunigatsu4ame 'coz I lied about Neji coming back last chapter. :gives her cookie as peace offering, puppy dog eyes included:

And thanks for the reviews you guys! I am very happy about the support and how this fic – somehow! – got over 50 reviews in 7 chapters plus prologue! :) Thatsneverhappenedtomebefore. :3

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Eight_

"…and that's how it is."

Shikamaru stayed quiet as he digested what Sakura had said, his eyes roving over to Neji to see what his reaction was. The other boy was staring down at the floor below him, his hands clenched slightly between his knees. For the most part he looked…okay, but then again, Shikamaru really didn't know him all that well. Just when he thought that no reaction would come from him, aside from the stiffening of his body that had occurred, Neji spoke quietly, his gaze still on the floor.

"Sakura. Can you…bring Hiashi-sama here? I know it's late in the evening, but…" Neji closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and looked up, his gaze locking with Sakura's. "I really think we need to talk."

Sakura nodded in response, glad to be of use. "I'll go see if he'll be willing to come over, then."

When Sakura left, awkward silence spread out between the two young men, which Shikamaru was quick to rid of with the clearing of his throat. Uncomfortably he rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze straying from Neji's general direction. "Aimi said you visited earlier."

Neji grunted in response. "Everyone was at the exams, so the chances of being seen by someone who recognized me were minimal."

Shikamaru chuckled softly, a small smirk slipping into place. "I knew it." Neji raised an eyebrow in response, which Shikamaru waved away with a small motion of his hand. "It's nothing. She was happy about it. The visit, I mean."

Neji didn't respond; out of the corner of his eye Shikamaru could see a semblance of a smile making its way onto Neji's lips. In hopes of coaxing it out, he said, "She was also one of the three promoted, 'though she wasn't there for it."

The smile grew a little in size, but didn't quite reach the older boy's eyes. "I'm proud of her." When he had spoken his voice was quieter, giving Shikamaru the distinct feeling that Neji wasn't as calm as he seemed. After a couple moments of silence passed by, when Neji's hands clenched together between his knees harder than before, Shikamaru knew for certain something was up. "I…exiled myself for Hinata-sama's happiness."

"You- what?" Shikamaru blinked in surprise, momentarily lost by the sudden subject change.

"I sacrificed my title as a Hyuuga member for Hinata-sama's happiness…with Uzumaki Naruto." A tiny, self-mocking smile covered his lips, his gaze narrowing slightly. A dry laugh slipped out as he added, "When I was younger I couldn't stand the _thought_ of Hinata-sama with the village's biggest loser. When I first saw them together on a…_date_, I thought it was all a bad joke, a dream." Neji sighed, his hands loosening their grip on one another. "It felt like something was being taken away from me; something that had been mine for so long, something I protected with my life, and lost so easily…"

Shikamaru remained quiet after Neji's "confession", his hand twitching slightly as he held in the urge to do something – in his mind anyway – that was far too strange for their current relationship. But the urge out-bid his uncomfortable-ness with it, making his hand hesitantly reach out to rest on Neji's shoulder, which was made easy from his position at the back of the couch. Almost immediately after doing so Shikamaru looked down in surprise when he felt Neji's hand cover his own, and had to resist the sudden urge – funny how that _got_ him into this situation in the first place – to pull his hand back. With an inward groan his thoughts started to focus on the fact that the hand was warm and soft upon his cooler and more worn one…

Quickly he cut off that train of thought, his eyes glancing down at Neji to see what exactly he had meant by resting his own hand on top of Shikamaru's. To his surprise he could see Neji shaking ever-so-slightly, his left hand clenching into a fist on his thigh. Upon closer inspection he noted the taught skin on the older boy's face, the way he so clearly was trying to _not_ clench his eyes shut…

For all intents and purposes, it looked like Neji was trying his damnedest to not have a mental breakdown (and here _he_ was thinking about the contact that had occurred, when clearly Neji's intention were purely innocent and unintentional!) With a quiet sigh Shikamaru squeezed Neji's shoulder lightly, his mind trying to form the words that would convey the fact that he knew that Neji was fighting the pull to run away from this confrontation he had initiated, and that he knew Neji was confused beyond belief from his past experience before the exiling and from what Sakura had said Hiashi had told Tsunade just an hour before. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a knock came at the door, causing him to jump slightly in surprise (he hadn't, after all, been expecting it).

Sighing once more, Shikamaru pulled his hand away – his mind puzzling over the fact that he missed the warmth and was relieved at the loss of contact all at the same time – and headed around the side of the couch to open the door only to be stopped by the sudden realization that Neji _hadn't_ let go of Shikamaru's hand when he had pulled it away from the young man's shoulder. Unconsciously his eyes travelled from the locked hands to peer at Neji's eyes in confusion, before his own widened in surprise to see Neji looking at him, an uncharacteristically fearful look being visible in their pale depths.

Shikamaru gently squeezed Neji's fingers before he released them with the whispered words "it'll be alright, I'll be here" and continued on his way to the door. Slowly he opened the door to reveal Sakura and Hiashi waiting patiently, who he was quick to usher inside before closing the door behind them.

Hiashi continued on closer to the couch, where Neji looked like he was trying his best to _not_ curl into a ball and hide from his uncle, while Sakura stayed beside Shikamaru, her back leaning slightly against the cold wood of the door. Quietly they watched as Hiashi stopped and stared down at Neji before whispering, "Neji, my nephew…"

As if coming to terms with something, Sakura quickly grabbed Shikamaru's arm and dragged him out of the living room, while happily – or rather, fake-happily – saying, "We'll go make tea while you two talk!"

Shikamaru glanced back and found himself locking gazes with the ex-Hyuuga, who was staring at him out the corner of his eye, the fear from before and now what seemed to be a feeling of loss still visible in the pale orbs. When he was pulled around the corner leading to the kitchen, the gaze was broken leaving Shikamaru mightily confused and quietly groaning to himself at this strange, new development of Neji's sudden out of character reactions.

From their position in the kitchen they couldn't hear the conversation going on very well, and ended up resigning themselves to focusing on tea-making like Sakura had said they'd do. The process had actually ended up taking longer than it normally would, in evident hopes of giving Neji and Hiashi more alone time to talk, until the point that dragging it on any longer would make it suspicious. So after getting cups out, putting them on a tray along with the tea pot, the two jounin made their way back into the living room, their movements automatically being controlled so they remained as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the "guests". As Sakura poured everyone some of the tea, Shikamaru took advantage of the moment to survey the current and ex-Hyuugas.

Hiashi looked as he always did, calm but stern with an air of superiority around him that misleads people into thinking he was a "bad guy" when he truly wasn't. Neji, on the other hand, was far from calm, but, to Shikamaru's immense relief, seemed less tense than before and had stopped clenching his hands between his knees.

Almost carelessly Shikamaru motioned toward the open seat next to Neji and said, "You can sit down, if you'd like."

"I'll be leaving soon, so no thank you." Hiashi declined Shikamaru's offer to sit, just as he was accepting a cup of tea from Sakura with a slight nod- somehow Shikamaru couldn't help but find that funny, and a little more than ironic. After receiving a cup of his own, Shikamaru noticed the subtle movements Neji made motioning for Shikamaru to sit, which the boy did with slight reluctance, his lips shaping into an 'o' shape to blow on his tea.

"So you have been staying here since that night?"

Neji nodded, the cup lowering from his lips as he spoke. "The Nara's let me stay with him."

Shikamaru stiffened suddenly as Hiashi turned his gaze toward him, his head tilting slightly in thanks. "I thank you for taking care of my nephew…Nara-san, was it?"

"Ah, it's Shikamaru." Shikamaru smiled awkwardly as he resisted the urge to break the eye contact. "And it's alright, Neji's not a bother." (Out of the corner of his eye he couldn't help but notice Sakura looking up at him in surprise, since it probably was the first time she had heard him say such a thing. Good thing he wasn't going to look at her questioning gaze, huh?)

"Have any side-effects of the seal's activation been found?" Hiashi's attention returned to Neji, his eyes giving away his curiosity.

"Yes, a couple." Neji replied, clearly with full intention to _not_ elaborate on what they were. After a few moments of silence slid by, Neji ventured to ask, "Will you tell Hinata-sama about this…or am I still not allowed to meet with her?"

"I realize that was a foolish request to ask of you, Neji. I will tell her the truth when I return to the manor."

Shikamaru couldn't rein in his curiosity, the question eating at him too much. "What did you tell her Neji was doing, anyway? Before the chuunin exams when the hokage said he was doing clan things she didn't look like she believed it."

"Ah, that." The corner of Hiashi's mouth tilted up ever-so-slightly, and wouldn't have been caught had they not all been trained ninjas and was supposed to catch such changes. "I told her that in Neji's search to become stronger, he left the village to find what pieces of him were missing and to better himself with the information."

At that, Shikamaru and Sakura both shared a glance, trying hard not to reveal their amusement.

When a couple more seconds passed by in silence, Hiashi said, "I realize this is sudden, but would you like to meet with Hinata?"

Neji's eyes widened in surprise as he very nearly dropped the now empty cup he held. "Is that possible?"

Hiashi nodded as he set his own cup down on the tray. "Tomorrow, then. At noon she'll come here. Does that sound agreeable?" Neji nodded, which seemed enough to satisfy Hiashi since he turned away and headed for the door. "I must return, then. It was…good to see you again, nephew."

Neji nodded, his continued wide eyes belying his surprise at the sudden meeting with his cousin and the way his uncle had so easily talked to him in a friendly manner. As Sakura walked Hiashi out the door, while saying "I'll walk you home, since I should probably be leaving as well", Shikamaru turned toward the other boy, the half-full pot of tea in one hand. Silently he motioned for Neji to give him his cup, which he did, then handed it back with the dark liquid hanging around just below the lip of the cup.

"Your uncle's a good guy, Neji."

Neji quietly nodded as he took a sip of the tea, his gaze locked onto the spot Hiashi had been standing on just moments before. Silently they both sat and drank the tea Sakura had brewed, their minds on the same thing: the meeting with Hinata the following day.

--

"I-I won't be able to stay long, n-nii-san, since I have a mission to go to in half-an-hour."

Neji nodded, his gaze off to the side a bit of where Hinata was standing and playing with the strap to her bag. He had spent the entire night thinking of this moment, and now that it was here…he had no idea what to say. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he locked gazes with Hinata and started, "Hinata-sama, I–"

"Father said he'd give Naruto-kun a chance." Hinata quickly interrupted with a smile, a small pale red sprinkling over her cheeks. "It made me very happy to hear that from him, when before he didn't like Naruto-kun much. A-and…he said that I don't have to go through o-miais anymore if Naruto-kun is interested…"

Despite his nervousness and previous dislike of the two of them together, Neji couldn't resist the urge to smile a little at Hinata's evident joy. "I hope it works out for you, Hinata-sama." Quiet, then: "Hinata-sama, I–"

"It…it's alright, nii-san." Hinata interrupted again, this time her voice a mere whisper. Her eyes were shining with happiness as she leaned over the small distance on the couch to pull Neji into a hug, before she added quietly, "You don't need to s-say anything, nii-san. I'm just…glad that you're alright."

In the background Shikamaru glanced away awkwardly, his eyes crossing over Sakura's quietly gleeful form. Silently he rolled his eyes at her reaction to the reunion in front of them, and then glanced at the clock hanging on his wall. It currently was 12:10, and Hinata had actually came late, leaving them very little time left to catch up, since she had to be at the village gates by 12:30. And since it took about five minutes to walk there from his house, the two had about 10 more minutes to catch up with one another.

"Does Naruto know what Hiashi-san said?"

Hinata pulled back from her cousin, her body turning so she could address Sakura, the blush from before returning with a vengeance. "N-no…b-but father said that he'd talk to him later today while I'm gone."

"You sure he's not going to have a heart attack?" Shikamaru asked as he tried to keep the amusement out of his voice, and then added as Hinata turned to him in curiosity: "It'd be annoying celebrate it then have Naruto die from happiness and shock."

"H-he won't–!"

"I'm joking, Hinata. _Joking_." Shikamaru said, this time the amusement clearly evident. "I'm happy for you, Hinata. Now maybe Naruto'll finally grow up and stop being a pain in the ass."

Hinata, face burning, simply nodded in thanks, and then turned her attention back to her cousin. For a few moments she stared at him, and then opened her mouth to speak after apparently coming to terms with something. "Neji-nii-san…stay s-strong for me, okay? A-and…if you need anyone, I'm sure Shikamaru-kun will be there for you at any time, s-since you live together now."

Shikamaru eyes widened in slight surprise, before his gaze locked onto Neji's own surprise one. Beside him Sakura laughed, a grin quickly making its way onto her lips. "You make it sound like they're married, Hinata!"

"A-ano! Th-that's not what I–!" Hinata's face turned an even brighter shade of red as she wildly turned to face Shikamaru, who had a slight red tinge on his face from the sheer embarrassment the situation was bringing. "I-I'm so sorry f-for saying that!"

"Hinata-sama, it's okay. We…know what you meant." Neji said as he gently touched Hinata's shoulder, his eyes locked onto the floor in front of them.

After that Hinata remained silent, too embarrassed by what she had – unintentionally – implied about her cousin's and Shikamaru's relationship to really say anything else. Before long the clock read 12:20, giving Hinata a good five minutes left to say anything else that she may have wanted to say, if the embarrassment passed enough.

"Ne, Hinata, when you come back from your mission, do you want to all go eat somewhere?"

Hinata blinked in surprise after the minutes' silence gap, then nodded slightly. "I- hai. That…would be very nice, Sakura-chan."

"So when will that be?"

"Umm…I th-think Tsunade-sama said it should take maybe a w-week at most…" Hinata narrowed her brow in thought, before she nodded in agreement with herself. "I'm sure she said a week at m-most and four days at mi-minimum."

Sakura grinned widely, as she glanced at both Neji and Shikamaru. "It's settled, then! All four of us will go eat _out_" – much emphasis on "out" – "when Hinata get back!"

After Hinata left with the promise of going out to eat when she returned, the three left behind sat on silence, unsure of what to say to one another after all that's happened. Shikamaru and Sakura mostly didn't know what to say to Neji – who had stayed mostly quiet during Hinata's visit – to gauge his mood, since both visits could've pushed him one way or the other. When Neji looked up at them, eyes unreadable as they had been before the exiling, mouth curved up slightly in a hesitant smile, they knew he'd be alright and that they had fretted for nothing.

"So…now what do you guys wanna do? It's only 12:30; I don't need to be at the hospital until 3." Sakura said, mainly to break the silence that came after Hinata's departure minutes before.

"Did you tell Tsunade-sama of this…situation?" Neji questioned, his expression neutral so as to not give away his thoughts.

Sakura shook her head. "As far as I know, she only knows about you being exiled." She paused, then added, "Do you think she should know?"

"It'd probably be best," Neji replied dryly, "we don't want her sending ANBU forces out to do a search for me."

Sakura chuckled nervously, knowing full well that her shishou would do it too, if it came down to it. Her gaze flitted over to the yawning Shikamaru and said, "You should probably tell her, Shikamaru, since Neji's living in _your_ house."

Shikamaru sighed as he bit back his original response of "let her send ANBU; either way it'd be a damn pain" and reluctantly agreed to tell their hokage of Neji's whereabouts.

A few hours later a disgruntled Shikamaru stepped out of the hokage's building, his left hand reaching up to massage his throbbing ear. The hokage had taken his confession just about the way he had expected for her to, but it didn't change the fact any that he didn't appreciate his ears being _yelled_ off. And it didn't help matters any that Neji had chosen to stay home rather than accompany him to her office…

Home. Funny how he so easily came to say that it was also Neji's, although the guy was more of a freeloader than anything else. Eating his food, sleeping in his bed, heck, even wearing his clothes! If _that_ wasn't the definition of a freeloader, he didn't know what was.

But…he really couldn't think of Neji like that, could he? Sure, the guy was doing all that without returning anything or paying for anything, but was that really his fault? It's not like he had _asked_ to be exiled…

Shikamaru groaned, his body running on autopilot to lead him home. Thinking in those terms he couldn't justly say that Neji was troublesome, since it _was_ his fault in the first place that Neji now lived with him. All because he couldn't keep his hands out of things 

that had nothing to do with him (sometimes – well, okay, most of the time – he missed the way he acted a couple years ago. All this caring business was just way too much at times).

…He _really_ need to stop thinking about things that he really couldn't do anything about and start thinking about things that ma- well. Okay. He couldn't say "mattered", since that would imply that Neji didn't "matter" which he most certainly didn't mean. Maybe saying he should be thinking of things that were pertinent to his future would be better?

Things like missions, which he hadn't been on since a couple weeks before the chuunin exams preparations had begun nearly a month and a half ago. So to put it simply, he hadn't gone on a mission for nearly two months; he was fairly certain that Tsunade would get back at him for keeping Neji a secret from her and end up sending him on – what he would consider – the more _troublesome_ missions that were available.

Ah well, that was something – again – that he had no control over, leaving him to sigh and run a hand through his hair as his apartment building came into view. Ever since "acquiring" Neji, he had been needlessly worrying about so many things, that for a brief second he wondered if saving Neji had truly been the best choice after all.

--

"I want us to go out."

Shikamaru looked up in surprise. From the moment he had returned hours ago until now he and Neji had been sitting in companionable silence on his couch, each doing their own thing; Neji had been reading a novel that Shikamaru had picked up for him from the store a couple days ago, while he had been looking over some files that Tsunade had wanted him to check for validity. So used to the silence he had been, Neji's voice came loud and highly unexpected. For a couple seconds he ran Neji's sentence in his mind, before he raised an eyebrow in Neji's direction, curious about what Neji meant. "What?"

"Tonight. I want us to go out." Neji carelessly motioned toward the door, his gaze sliding over to Shikamaru's form on the other side of the couch. "Not for anything like eating, but for a walk around the village. It's plenty dark right now so no one would recognize us wandering around."

Shikamaru inwardly smirked at catching Neji silently admitting that he was afraid – although Neji wouldn't use that word – of running into his friends and having to explain what had happened and why he was out with Shikamaru – who he never even really _talked_ to before, let alone hung out with – at (Shikamaru glanced at the clock out of the corner of his eye) nine 'o' clock at night. (Of course he couldn't really think of a reason why the others would even be outside at nine at night either, but he wisely chose to ignore that train of thought). Inwardly he sighed; eventually Neji would have to get over the fact that he would have to tell the others about his exiling and come out during the day, no matter how much he didn't want to, and that he couldn't stayed holed up in Shikamaru's apartment forever. They were his friends: they weren't likely to judge him for the things he had done to get him where he was right now.

"You sure you want to? I don't want to put these folders away only to have you be a pain in the ass and change your mind, Neji." A half-smile tugged at the corner of Shikamaru's lips as Neji shot him a dirty look, to which he replied with a grandiose yawn and stretching. "Alright, then. We better not be going too far, though. I don't want to have to carry you back if you get tired after not being used to walking around so much."

Neji didn't lessen his glare after Shikamaru's joke, and silently checked his place in the book before closing it and setting it on the cushion next to him. He stood then, Shikamaru's curious gaze burning a hole in his back, and walked toward Shikamaru's room before turning into the bathroom. Hesitating slightly he grabbed the vile Sakura had given him before taking the top off and taking a quick sip then recapped it and entered the living room again. Shikamaru was already standing by the door, rolling his neck in an effort to rid of the kinks that had found their place there, a slightly bored look in place. "We'll make it a quick one, if it bothers you so much." Neji commented dryly as he followed Shikamaru out the door, a very small amused smirk slipping into place.

Before he had thought living – could he really call it that, since he wasn't really living there? – with Shikamaru would've been boring and on some level annoying, since he had been so sure that Shikamaru would just end up whining over having his place "taken over" by someone he didn't really know. But now, after having watched the younger boy the past couple of weeks since they didn't really have much time to just sit and talk what with the chuunin exams and all, he detected a distinct difference in him that Neji couldn't help but find intriguing, leading up to the thought that just maybe staying with Shikamaru would be more interesting than he originally had thought.

--

**A/N:** Okay, so…I doing think that this fic's going to be 12-ish chapters anymore, especially since I had to split up the chuunin exams into two chapters and because of the next chapter, which I never really intended to write. XP But yeah, so this fic's going to be more like 15…maybe 17-ish chapters long. That's cool, right? :Grins:

And the ShikaNeji stuff's gonna come way quick-like, at least on one side, and slightly less quick on the other. We'll have more Sakura involvement (of the good kind, heh heh) and more Neji's genin involvement (again, of the good kind) in the next few chapters, so stay tuned!

**Read and review!**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Ugh. I'm _really really REALLY_ sorry about the uber late update. All the things – in terms of high school/college – that I had _thought_ I could do over the whole school year has been cut down and all forced into one semester instead, since I'm going to end up graduating early due to a surgery I'm – probably – gonna have in December. So yeah, life sucks. Making me too busy to enjoy writing 'n' all.

I thank everyone for the reviews! Much love! :heart:

OH! Another thing. If things start getting a little…like, different than before – like it's rushed, or if people get OOC – during this chapter, that's probably 'coz I've not written _anything_ in the past…uhhh…ever since I last updated. Lol So yeh.

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Nine_

The next week passed by fairly uneventfully, save for the few incidents that to anyone else would have seemed quite dull, and if it _had_ been anyone else, would have simply been everyday occurrences that had little impact on their everyday lives. But no; for the two involved the incidents were anything _but_ minor, although at the time they wouldn't be able to tell you why, let alone give a satisfactory answer as to now the "problems" had even came into being in the first place. Instead they remained in the back of both boys' minds to catch up to them when they'd least expect them to.

It all started a couple days after Hiashi and Hinata's visit…

--

Shikamaru groaned loudly as he practically threw the newest folder of work he had been assigned to do to the side. After his "confession" to Tsunade about Neji, it seemed like he suddenly had loads more paperwork to do than before and no actual missions to do beyond the petty D-rank ones that the genin failures had to do around the village. Somehow he was getting the impression that she was punishing him for having hid the elder boy, and it seemed like _she_ somehow had gotten the impression that he had had a hand in the exiling from how he had so "readily" chosen to look over the genin he, under normal circumstances, would've rather died than have dealt with. (That, of course, was pure speculation on his part, since he hadn't yet been able to be in her company for more than five minutes without her yelling at him about something or other he'd done or hadn't done.)

"I see you're clearly enjoying yourself." A voice to his left spoke dryly, the words muffled slightly from being forced to swerve around a book. A glance told him that Neji hadn't bothered to look up from the page he was reading even as a smirk tugged at the corner of the older boy's mouth.

"So glad you noticed." Shikamaru replied, voice practically oozing with sarcasm. He didn't really care if how he was talking was uncharacteristic of him, or that Neji had glanced up at him in surprise due to the barely veiled malice that laced his words. His patience level was starting to get far past gone, and couldn't help but take out a little annoyance on his impromptu roommate, although the guy didn't rightfully deserve it. With a sigh Shikamaru reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced at the clock: 10:25. That meant they'd only been sitting there for half-an-hour after returning from their now-nightly walk, and he was already tired of the work he had to do; normally it took roughly an hour for his patience to wear thin.

Sighing once more, he noticed that Neji was staring at him warily, book open on his lap. Forcing a smile onto his lips he said, "Sorry, Neji. I'm just…tired."

Neji kept his gaze on Shikamaru's form a few seconds before he sighed and looked down at the book he'd been reading. "If you want to, you can claim your bed back. I'm capable of sleeping out here now."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise, momentarily caught off-guard by what had came after his claiming he was tired. _Did_ he want his bed back? He'd actually gotten quite used to napping on the couch that his bed seemed like a foreign place now. "It'd be too much of a pain to switch back; I'm already used to the couch."

Neji frowned slightly, his brow narrowing minutely. "It's _your_ bed, Nara. I should've stopped using it when I had gotten well enough to do things without Sakura's help." He reached over to grab the files that Shikamaru had strewn over the middle of the couch, put them back in the folder, then set it on the floor as he brought his feet up to rest where the folder had been. "I'll sleep here from now on. You go in the back if you're tired."

Shikamaru yawned as he stood, his hands clasping together over his head as he stretched. After that he sighed and shrugged, before he headed toward his room. "It's too late to begin arguing about something like the bed. I'll see you in the morning, Neji."

The grunt that followed seemed vaguely suspicious, but he didn't bother to dwell on it as he entered the room he nowadays only entered to gather clothes for the day and to head to the bathroom. When he reached the foot of his bed he paused and let his gaze roam over the room, taking in the subtle changes that had occurred the last couple of weeks: the made bed that his mom would've had a heart attack about, the clothes that were set nicely into the wicker basket near the closet rather than strewn all over the floor…

It seriously felt like he had a stay-at-home wife who had nothing better to do than to repeatedly clean the house while he was "out" working. ("Out" since he didn't really go _out_ like "normal" shinobi would for work.)

Sighing, he let his gaze rest on the wicker basket a little longer, his mind trying its best to figure out why something felt…_off_ about it. After a few seconds it hit him, causing him to groan softly and reach up to cradle his forehead in the palm of his hand. The thing that had bothered him was the fact that there even _were clothes_ in the basket, when his normally highly attentive mother _always_ came and washed them for him and put them away. It wasn't that he was running out of clothes or anything – he'd gathered many disguises over the years so he and Neji could always wear those if need be – but that she was normally so meticulous about cleaning them that her _not_ doing it was strange. Maybe his father had had a hand in it? But even then she'd still come since normally his father would give in after a couple days of her nagging.

Shikamaru had to stop himself from turning to ask Neji if his mom had been by, and slowly made his way to the front of the bed where he sat and slipped his clothes off – sans his boxers – and carelessly threw them in the general direction of the wicker basket. After doing that he slipped under the covers and rested his head on the pillow; almost immediately he was able to pick up a foreign scent mixed in with the familiar ones of his shampoo and soap. For a moment he relaxed into the scent, breathing deeply as he closed his eyes. Almost immediately after he stopped and quickly re-opened his eyes, his mind racing to figure out just _what_ he had been doing.

Groaning softly he repositioned himself into another comfortable spot all the while valiantly trying to rid himself of the thoughts of the scent that had invaded his mind: about how good it smelt, how it somehow managed to calm him down enough to ease him into sleep…

In the other room Neji sighed quietly as he marked his place in the book and set it aside, his gaze unconsciously sliding over to look in the direction of the bedroom. Things were getting better, and he was glad for that; and if the only way he could express his gratitude was by giving Shikamaru the bed back, then that was okay with him.

--

It was a couple days later when the second not-so-major-but-somehow-major even occurred, after the 'bed incident' was argued over and compromised on. Neji at the time hadn't really known what it was all about, but had quickly learned; which brought both he and Shikamaru far closer together in such a short amount of time than before.

--

"Hey, Nara. Don't you have a mission today? Why are you still here?"

Shikamaru groaned softly as he turned in the bed, his face peeking out just enough to see Neji leaning against the doorjamb, a different book than from before held loosely in one hand. For a couple seconds they stared at one another, before Shikamaru sighed and pulled the covers over his head. "There's no point in getting up. Chouji and Ino are going to cancel it anyway."

Neji furrowed his brow, his eyes sparkling with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled the edge of the blanket back over his head and yawned widely. "Exactly as I said. Now, if it wouldn't be too much of a pain, could you leave and let me get back to sleep?"

Neji frowned, and then slowly breathed out. "If you don't want breakfast, go ahead."

At the mention of the word "breakfast", Shikamaru threw the covers off his body and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You…made me breakfast?" That was strange. They normally made their own meals and hardly each other's…

Neji glanced at the floor. "I know how you are, Nara. You'd forget your breakfast because you'd wake up really close to the time you're supposed to leave. You've done it before." He glanced up and noticed Shikamaru's other eyebrow had joined the first in its risen state, causing the previously formed frown to lengthen. "Don't look at me like that, Nara. It's not _that_ surprising, since I _do_ live with you after all."

"Right." Shikamaru fell back against his pillow, his eyes closed loosely against the rays of the sun now peeking out over the horizon through his window. For a couple seconds he sat there, until his senses told him that Neji had left the room. Only then did he sigh, open his eyes, and slide out of bed. When he reached the living room, his eyebrow rose of its own accord once more at what waited for him. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Neji walking out of the kitchen, a tray with a teapot and cups on it in his hands. "I could've gotten my own, you know. You didn't have to do this for me." He motioned toward the still steaming food spread out on the floor in front of the couch.

Neji shrugged as he set the tray down on the mini-table next to the couch. "I woke up early and just wanted to do it." Shikamaru didn't move, causing Neji to sigh in exasperation. "It's not _poisoned_, Nara, so eat."

Shikamaru mentally shook his head as a smirk settled into place. "I'm not so sure…you _are_ a clan person. _Can_ you guys even cook?"

Neji's eyes narrowed, impatience overtaking him. "Look, Nara. I don't _care_ if you eat or not. It's _your_ food that'd be going to waste after all."

Before Shikamaru could respond, Neji briskly walked to the bedroom and shut the door behind him. After a couple seconds he could hear the sound of running water, causing him to sigh softly. Okay, so maybe it was a little early to egg on the ex-Hyuuga about his ex-clan status. With that thought in mind he made his way to the other side of the couch and sat on the floor in front of the food. Hesitantly he picked up the chopsticks that had been left out for him and ended up grabbing the bowl closest to him. A cursory glance told him it was curry before he quickly shoved some into his mouth.

As the taste assaulted his tongue he unconsciously widened his eyes in surprise. It was…unexpectedly _good_. Sure, he had had Neji's cooking before – that time a little over a week ago during the chuunin exams – but it was nothing like _this_. Before he knew it he was sampling a bit of everything just as fast as the chopsticks could move from the bowls to his mouth.

"You're acting like you're starved, Nara."

Shikamaru blinked as he stuck the chopsticks in his mouth while at the same time he raised his head to look at Neji, who had a towel in his hands. Slowly he lowered the chopsticks to his lap like he had done something bad and cleared his throat. "Didn't you just go in the shower?"

Neji raised an eyebrow slightly in amusement. "What're you talking about? I got in ten minutes ago." A smirk falling into place, he added, "Or is my horrible cooking that distracting?"

Shikamaru had the grace to blush awkwardly. "It's…not bad. Where'd you learn to cook like this? It's a little…unexpected."

"I was a branch member, Nara. I'm _supposed_ to know how to cook." Neji sighed, his hands reaching up to towel his hair. "It was expected of us to know basic house care routines whether we needed it or not since many of us ended up married to a main branch member. Once upon a time I had been engaged to Hinata-sama, but…" He shrugged. "It didn't work out."

Shikamaru kept his question about how Hiashi had caught wind of Naruto to himself, and set down his chopsticks. "Thanks for the food, Neji. I…shouldn't have insulted your cooking skills without having tried it first."

"Already forgotten." Neji waved Shikamaru's apology to the side with a shaking of the towel. "So what's going on today that leaves you free of a mission?"

"I'll be meeting Chouji and Ino later and we'll be gone for a few hours. I'll go shopping while we're out." Shikamaru straight-forwardly avoided the question as he stood and stretched, carefully avoiding Neji's gaze. "I'll be leaving after I take a shower."

Neji sighed and nodded, deciding against pressing the younger boy for an answer. "When do you think you'll be back?"

Shikamaru glanced at the clock. "Hopefully by 3:00, but it really depends on how long I spend with Chouji and Ino."

Neji nodded again, not bothering to ask what they planned to do for almost 10 hours. "I'll be here when you get back, then."

"That's what I was expecting." Shikamaru responded with a smirk as he walked to the back room, leaving a sighing Neji to clean the mess made by the breakfast that remained.

--

A little over nine hours later Shikamaru trudged up the steps to his front door, a grocery bag held loosely in each hand. Clumsily he opened the door and stepped in, eyes immediately seeking out the figure he knew would be laying on the couch with a book in hand.

The older boy glanced at the clock, his hand covering the page he was on to keep his place in check. "You're early. It's only 2:16."

"Something came up." Shikamaru quickly made his way to the kitchen where he left the bags and then stepped back out into the living room. "They're coming earlier than I had thought, which is a complete pain in the ass. I need to have everything cooked by 3:30 instead of 5:30 like we had originally planned."

"Who's coming?" Neji's question went unanswered as Shikamaru made his way back into the kitchen to begin the task of cooking that had been pushed upon him. After a few seconds Neji sighed and followed. "Who's coming, Nara?"

"Don't worry about that. Just help me cook so she won't think I'm being negligent when she comes." Shikamaru's reply was hasty as he shoved a pot and a package of noodles in Neji's hands. "Make sure you make enough for four, alright? There might end up being some left over since I don't know how much he eats, but that's alright."

Neji sighed again and nodded, figuring that following Shikamaru's instructions would get him the information he wanted a lot faster than just repeatedly asking for it.

A little over an hour later Shikamaru pulled a table that Neji had never seen before out of the closet and set it in the middle of the living room, quickly followed by four stools; one of which was slightly taller than the other three. Before Neji could question about it Shikamaru was headed back to the kitchen to bring the food in.

"Hey, Neji. Could you lay that cloth over the table?" Shikamaru reappeared, a tray of food-filled bowls in each hand. When Neji did as asked, he set the trays down and quickly headed back to the kitchen to repeat. The third time he went to the kitchen he returned with the pot of tea Neji had prepared and four cups which he set in the middle of the table. After a quick glance around Shikamaru nodded in approval. "Everything's set up in time. Thanks, Neji."

Neji, still confused about what exactly was going on, merely nodded in response.

A knock at the door told them that their guests had arrived. As he walked toward the door Shikamaru motioned for Neji to sit on one of the stools. When he did so, Shikamaru opened the door.

"Thanks for inviting us over again this year, Shikamaru. It means a lot."

Neji blinked in surprise as Kurenai and her four-year-old son stepped into the room like they belonged there. Unconsciously he stood and muttered a slightly awkward hello when the older jounin took notice of him.

"Is that…Neji?" Kurenai blinked before turning puzzled eyes to Shikamaru. "What's he doing here?"

"Long story. It's too much of a pain to tell." Shikamaru responded as he motioned for her and her son to sit. "Let's just say he's been here for about two weeks."

"That's really helpful." Kurenai rolled her eyes as she sat her son on the slightly taller stool, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "But since you apparently don't want to tell me, I'll let you keep your little secret Shikamaru."

Shikamaru didn't respond and instead sat on the only remaining stool, directly to the right of Neji. After everyone said the traditional "Itadakimasu", every quietly ate, only speaking long enough to ask for various seasonings and whatnot to be passed.

The curiosity getting the best of him, Neji cleared his throat, effectively catching everyone's attention. Locking gazes with Kurenai he asked, "Why exactly are you here, anyway? Nara here won't tell me."

Kurenai "hmm"ed softly to herself as she adopted a thoughtful look. "It's been…five years, hasn't it?" She glanced at Shikamaru who nodded, before turning her attention back to Neji. "It's the fifth anniversary of…Asuma's passing today."

Neji paused in surprise, before bringing the chopsticks to his mouth. Now everything made perfect sense. "Is eating all you do for the occasion?"

"Ah, no. We normally visit the memorial stone and tell him what's been going on lately, and then we go visit all of Asuma's old friends. They normally have a gift for Daisuke," she motioned toward her son, "and that's really about it."

"Hmm…" Neji stared down at the table, suddenly uncomfortable. He hadn't actually _known_ Asuma like Kurenai and Shikamaru had. It felt…wrong, somehow, to be with these people on such an important day to them, when he couldn't even understand what the loss of Asuma meant to them.

The rest of the meal passed on quietly, until everyone had finished eating and Kurenai and her son were getting ready to leave. Neji glanced at the clock as Shikamaru was saying his goodbyes, and almost sighed when he saw that it was only 4:45; it had felt like the meal had taken a _lot_ longer than just an hour and fifteen minutes to pass by.

"I'll see you guys later, then."

He nodded distractedly as Kurenai waved goodbye before she stepped outside, Daisuke in front of her. Only when Shikamaru shut the door behind the two did Neji allow himself to release the tension that had ended up building up during the meal.

"You okay?"

Neji mentally shook his head, forcefully telling himself that he was acting strange and that _of course_ the Nara would notice. "I'm fine. Is there anything else that you do today?"

Shikamaru stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds before he shrugged. "Not really. Today's mostly just a free-day now."

"So you're just taking advantage of your old sensei's death anniversary to slack off?" Neji raised an eyebrow. "That's hardly professional."

Something sparked in Shikamaru eye before he turned away. "Call it what you want. I'm going to take a nap."

Neji watched Shikamaru walk off, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically guilty for what he had just said. He knew that Shikamaru wasn't doing what he had just said, but…

He sighed and begun carrying things back to the kitchen. It was already said and done; nothing could really change what he had said now, especially if Shikamaru was just going to walk off and close himself off in his room.

--

Later that night Neji woke to the sound of his book falling to the ground. Sighing, he silently cursed being a light sleeper as he glanced at the clock. It was nearing 9; why hadn't Shikamaru woken him by now for dinner?

Groaning softly Neji lifted himself off the couch and made his way to the bedroom whose door was shut. Slowly he turned the knob and stepped in partially before he spoke. "Hey, Nara, why didn't you-"

Immediately he stopped himself, his eyes darting around the empty room. Shikamaru…wasn't there. But hadn't he said that he was going to take a nap? If that had been the case, the guy should've still been there, since naps for him usually lasted a _minimum_ of five hours at a time…

The window caught his eye as the curtains billowed outside. It had been shut before, meaning that Shikamaru _had_ been in the room recently (Neji had learned that Shikamaru preferred his windows closed, and only opened them when he had to. He _rarely_ left them wide open like this).

Slowly he made his way to the window and stuck his head out into the darkening night. There was no sign of the younger boy, suddenly making Neji apprehensive about where he had gone. Maybe what he had said to the guy had affected him more than he had let on…?

A tendril of smoke overhead caused him to tilt his head upward, where he noticed a pair of legs hanging down over the side of the roof. After a few seconds of inspection, Neji realized that he was staring up at the bottom of Shikamaru's feet. Sighing, he hoisted himself out of the window and up onto the roof next to Shikamaru, who was lying down on his back with a lit cigarette held loosely between two fingers. At the sight of it, Neji frowned. "You smoke?"

Shikamaru brought the stick to his lips and breathed in before sighing. "Not really."

"So why…?" Neji furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Because he always did." Shikamaru closed his eyes as he let his hand drop to rest on the rooftop, and sighed again. "Every year I do this to remember him by."

"And you can't do something less harmful to remember him by?" Neji didn't get it, and narrowed his eyes when Shikamaru quietly groaned in exasperation. "Don't make that noise, Nara. I just don't see the point in screwing up your body to remember someone by."

Shikamaru sat up and crushed the almost completely used cigarette with the roof's roughness. "You wouldn't understand, Neji. You didn't know him like I did."

"Evidently." Neji replied curtly as he sat a few feet away from the younger boy, his gaze automatically locking onto the sky above. For a few minutes silence spread out between the two, before Neji closed his eyes and sighed quietly. "I apologize for what I said before. It was…out of line."

Shikamaru grunted. "It's fine. Your sensei and old teammates are still alive. You don't know how it is to lose someone that was close to you like Asuma was to me."

"My-" Neji bit his tongue. He had been about to say "my father had died. I'd say that's closer than a team leader" and instead kept it to himself, knowing that if he were to say it out loud it wouldn't help anything any. He sighed again, and merely nodded. He truly _didn't_ know that feeling too well, since he had been so much younger when he had lost his father…

For the next few minutes – maybe hour? They didn't know – they sat there in companionable silence, staring up at the sky above as the night grew darker. Whatever awkwardness that had been present from before was long gone, only leaving the comfortable feeling of being with someone you trusted enough to spend such a quietly intimate moment with, whom you trusted enough to not ruin the simple peacefulness of the moment.

--

The last event occurred the following morning after the anniversary, and – at best – could be described as an interesting moment in their currently monotonous lives. Their "secret" of living together had almost gotten found out, and they were _beyond_ grateful that it hadn't.

Neji, as he stood on the other side of the door, learned something about his current roommate that couldn't simply be brushed off like most things that Shikamaru did could; but of course he would be the very last to admit it.

--

The scene was a familiar one, Neji laying on the couch with a book in hand, Shikamaru propped up against said couch flipping through the files he had been instructed to review. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and nothing should've been. As far as they were concerned, it was just going to be another boring day that they were quite used to having.

They couldn't be more wrong. The knock at the door told them so.

"Shikamaru! Open up!"

Both boys froze and jerkily lifted their heads to stare at the door in surprise and slight apprehension. If that was who they thought it was, they were in some deep…crap…if they were caught like this. And they certainly _didn't_ want to be caught like this, no matter how perfectly innocent it was.

"Shikamaru-kun! It is us, your youthful friends!"

Shikamaru and Neji simultaneously cringed at the second voice and shared a glance. The second person only made things worse.

"Damn it Shikamaru! I _know_ you're in there! We're all gathering for lunch; you can't just stay home all day!"

Shikamaru stood, Neji following suit, and was immediately glad for the fact that he hadn't opened the blinds yet to allow the late morning sunshine to filter through. Sighing, he locked gazes with Neji and said, "I'm going to have to open the door you know. Naruto's not going to settle for me just talking to him through the window or something."

Neji sighed softly and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I know. And I don't think he and Lee will wait much longer before inviting themselves in." He shot a suspicious look toward the door, before raising an eyebrow in Shikamaru's direction. "Actually, I'm surprised they haven't already done that. They normally do."

"Thank kami for small favors." Shikamaru muttered in response, his hand reaching up to run through his sloppily-made ponytail. Shrugging toward the back room he said, "I guess you'll have to hang out back there until they leave, Neji. Hope that's not too much of a pain for you to do."

Neji shrugged and almost spoke before a shout from the outside caught his attention.

"If you don't open this door in five seconds, Shikamaru, I'll open it myself!"

"Five seconds. I'm surprised he even made it this far." Shikamaru muttered sarcastically as both he and Neji held their places. When they heard the doorknob turn and click open, both pairs of eyes widened before Neji dashed to the back room. The door closed behind him just as the front door open, causing both boys to sigh in relief.

Through the door Neji could hear a filtered "Hey, Shikamaru, did your back door just close?" and uncharacteristically held his breath before coming to the conclusion that Naruto would probably end up investigating and that finding a hiding place would probably be the wisest choice he could make right now.

Almost immediately he wrote off the bathroom, since it wouldn't have been too surprising if Naruto went in there to check. The only other places that he could really hide were the closet and under the bed: it wasn't even a contest about which one he'd choose. Just seconds after he practically threw himself into Shikamaru's closet did the door open with a slight creak. As he buried himself deeper into the closet he heard footsteps wander by for a bit before leaving and the door closing behind him.

With a sigh Neji sat on the nearest surface to him and rested his head against the wall. Slowly he closed his eyes and quietly released a breath before opening his eyes and staring up into the reaches of the closet. Immediately his eyes locked onto something that looked quite familiar and carefully stood before reaching up to grab onto it.

It was cloth, dark green in color as far as he could tell in the dark. Slowly he ran a hand over it to try and figure out just _why_ it was something that seemed familiar to him. As his mind mapped out what his hand told him, an image popped into his head causing him to drop his hand and stare down at what he held in his hand.

It was the vest that Shikamaru had gotten after passing the chuunin exams, the very same one he had worn for the following years up until being promoted to jounin level. Most people who were promoted to jounin got rid of the old chuunin vest immediately after, so clearly that meant that the vest held memories that Shikamaru didn't want to forget.

For a very brief moment the thought brought a tiny, barely noticeable upturn of the corner of Neji's mouth before the boy caught himself and scoffed as he put the clothing back to the place where he had gotten it. That vest may have held memories for Shikamaru, but it certainly didn't hold any for him.

Of course it took a lot of convincing on his part to make himself believe such an obvious lie.

--

**A/N:** So it's a little shorter than the last few chapters, but eh. I also think that it became rushed toward the ending, but since it gets the point across I'll leave it there. XD For now, at least.

I'll be writing – or, rather, trying to write – a chapter and a half before every update so I'll actually be able to keep up with them this time around since I actually have to finish this story by December or else the hiatus or whatever you wanna call it would be a very long time and I don't want that. :Sweatdrop:

As it stands right now we're looking at anywhere between 17 and 20-ish chapters for this story, plus an epilogue. I actually have the last chapter before said epilogue written, so I know exactly what I'm aiming for. I just hope I can properly get it there without things getting too weird. XD That'd be bad.

Anyway. **Read and review!** Tell me how it is, or even just review to tell me that people are still reading this! XD

See you next time!

_Expected Next Update:_ Friday, October 10th, 2008


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Um…sorry for the delay. There's…really not much else I can say asides that XD

So. This fic is going to be 19 chapters long I figured out (unless I combine some chapters to make 'em longer, 'course), plus an epilogue. :) So there's gonna be roughly 10 chapters left! W00t.

And thank you to all of you who reviewed! The reviews-per-chapter and the amount of alerts I got for this fic seem a bit…off-balance, but that's okay! XD At least I know that people are still reading this, which makes me happy. :D

Oh! And I apologize for the length of this one, since it's like, _significantly_ shorter than the rest are XD

--

**An Unexpected Night**

--

_Chapter Ten_

_The following day proved to be quite an interesting one, and was a step forward in their lives. A step toward what, however, they hadn't a single clue about._

"Hey, Neji. Is there anything you want from the dango shop? I'm going there with your team if you want me to pick you up anything."

"It's fine. I don't really feel like having dango right now."

Shikamaru shrugged as he slid the file he had been looking over into its folder, then stood and stretched. "Suit yourself. I'll probably be out with them for the whole day, since this is going to be our first time being all together since they've been released."

Neji nodded as Shikamaru made his way to the door. Just as his hand landed on the knob, Neji spoke. "Wait. Can you…bring them here? I want…to see them."

Shikamaru paused in surprise, his head turning to look at Neji. "Why don't you just–" Shikamaru breathed in sharply, his gaze adverting from Neji's. _Something_ had been there, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Slowly he turned his head away again, his eyes dropping to the floor. "I'll bring them back, Neji. We'll be back probably in an hour or two."

Neji nodded ever-so-slightly as the door opened then closed behind his roommate. Quietly he sighed and set the book he'd been reading aside. He'd probably just brought down a bunch of trouble on Shikamaru's shoulders with that request, but he really wanted to see his kids, even if that meant that they'd probably kill the other jounin for having "hid" him.

--

A little over an hour later Neji could hear the familiar voices of his students on the other side of the door. From the sound of it they were in a heated argument with Shikamaru, but he couldn't quite make out what was being said. When the door opened and he could understand what they were saying, he couldn't hold in the smirk of satisfaction. He'd been right.

"Shika-sensei! C'mon, tell us why you stole– Neji-sensei!"

The corner of Neji's mouth tilted upward slightly as Aimi and Hiroshi rushed into the room, followed by a subdued Keiichi and a sighing Shikamaru. Before he could speak, Hiroshi turned and pointed an accusatory finger at Shikamaru. "Shika-sensei! Neji-sensei better be the same as when we last saw him or else you'll be sorry!"

Neji smirked in amusement, his gaze flitting to Shikamaru. "Hiro, I'm fine. The Nara here's been good to me."

"Hmmm…" Hiroshi's gaze slid over to Keiichi's form, and grinned when he saw that his teammate was staring suspiciously at their ex-temporary sensei. A light bulb lit over his head as the grin turned sly, and he quickly closed the gap between him and his half-brother.

Keiichi, for his part, managed to stop himself from jumping in surprise as he felt Hiroshi's arm circle around his shoulders, pulling him away from Shikamaru's direction. Before he could ask what Hiroshi was doing, the other boy began speaking.

"Kei here missed you the most, Neji-sensei! He was also _really_ jealous of Shika-sensei."

Neji raised an eyebrow in curiosity, his gaze unconsciously locking onto Shikamaru, who had moved to lean against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. "Why's that?"

"Well, remember when you used to talk about Shika-sensei, but we didn't know it was him at the time? Like, when you said you found it kinda amusing that he'd complain about his mother, but that he'd go right around and buy her stuff without even being asked to? And when he refused going out with his friends so he could finish up some work at the hokage's office, even though it was really late at night? And how he'd still sleep in the park, sometimes through work time, and he'd stay late so he could catch up?" Hiroshi's voice raised an octave in his excitement, completely unaware that Shikamaru had opened his eyes and was now openly staring at Neji in shock. Without missing a beat, he continued on: "And you were also telling us that Shika-sensei was really lazy and would sometimes fall asleep during work, only to be woken up by Shizune-san or Tsunade-sama, and that he woke Tsunade-sama up one time and almost got his skull cracked open 'coz of it. Remember?"

Suddenly he stopped and narrowed his eyes in contemplation, this time unaware that his teammates had shared a glance and were now rapidly approaching him. "But, wait. Why do you know all that, Neji-sensei? It seems like you've hung out with Shika-sensei all the time, but Shika-sensei told us that you guys hadn't really talked to each other in a long time. It seems more like– ow! What was that for?!" Hiroshi glared at Keiichi, who had been the one to hit him. Roughly Aimi moved his head in the direction that Shikamaru was in, and forcibly made him look into Shikamaru's eyes. When the boy did so, his eyes widened. Shikamaru's own eyes were wide, his jaw slack as he stared in shock at Neji, who had his own gaze locked steadily on the floor below him. Silence permeated the room, before Hiroshi quietly spoke again. "So…Shika-sensei _didn't_ know about it…?"

Nobody responded. Then again, no one needed to. The answer was fairly obvious, after all.

A few more minutes passed by as the awkward silence returned with a vengeance. When Aimi broke it with a quiet cough and an even quieter "we…probably should be going, guys…", the awkwardness didn't leave, even as the three kids practically tore out of the apartment. Only when the door shut loudly behind them did Neji look up and sigh, his hands dangling between his knees.

"Look, Nara. I don't…want you to be getting the wrong idea or anything. I've just been…curious about you since Asuma-sensei died five years ago, and saw how you changed since then." Neji's eyes unconsciously narrowed slightly as he clenched his hands together slightly. Quietly he added: "Nothing else."

"Hm…" Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, and pushed himself away from the wall. Without once looking in Neji's direction he walked to the door and paused, his hand on the knob. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back…later."

Neji quietly watched as Shikamaru slipped out of the apartment, then sighed inaudibly as the door closed silently behind him. Well. That had been…awkward, to say the least.

Shaking the thought out of his mind, he brought his feet up on the cushions and rested his head on the armrest behind him. Silently he stared up at the ceiling, his eyes unblinking, his arms moving up to rest under his head. What just happened, anyway?

--

Noon time the following day, after Shikamaru returned from having spent an unexpected night at Chouji's house, he returned home to a surprise that he hadn't been expecting.

Blinking slowly, he set the bag of snacks that Chouji had forced onto him on the floor and straightened. "Where…are you going?"

Neji didn't bother to look up as he finished buckling his sandal. "I'm going out."

"Out? As in…outside?" Unsure if maybe he had just been imagining the fact that it _was_ daytime outside, Shikamaru glanced out the window and raised an eyebrow. "During the day? When there's light out?"

"That's what comes with it being day." Neji snorted as he stood, his eyes locking onto Shikamaru's confused ones. "You can come if you want. Either way I don't particularly care."

Shikamaru watched, still slightly stunned, as Neji walked the short distance to the table next to the couch and picked up the vile that lay there. Quickly, like he had done it time and time again, he undid the top and brought the neck of the vile to his mouth before he tilted it upward and took a quick swig of the contents, then recapped it and set it back down. Noting the fact that Neji avoided his gaze, Shikamaru shrugged and turned to follow the older boy as he opened the door and stepped out. When Neji sent him a questioning look, Shikamaru shrugged again. "There's nothing to do today. It'd be a pain to just lie around and be bored when you need a babysitter."

Neji didn't respond and instead rolled his eyes, belying his annoyance. Silently the two walked out into the street, almost immediately being subject to the glances of various villagers who noticed their appearance. The gazes lingered a few moments before those staring decided that they didn't know who the two were, and continued on with their business. Every few moments Shikamaru stole a sideways glance at his companion to see how he was holding up, and almost smirked.

The older boy was holding out pretty well, although the tenseness of his shoulders gave away much more than Neji probably wanted to. For the most part it didn't seem traumatic for him to be outside, but then again he could've just been holding it inside. Frowning, Shikamaru turned his head toward Neji and opened his mouth to speak. Before a single sound could come out, however, a shout from behind caught their attention.

Sighing, the two young men stopped and turned, their shoulders bumping slightly as they ended up turning in the same direction. Sparing each other a glance, they took an unconscious step away from each other without a word and waited for their friends to catch up to them.

"Neji! Shikamaru! It's strange to see you guys out here!"

"Neji-kun! My youthful rival has returned!"

Shikamaru managed to take a step away quick enough so that he was able to avoid being tackled – glomped – by Lee along with Neji. As it was, though, only Neji was caught and brought to the ground. Hard.

"_Lee._ Get. Off."

Shikamaru blinked as Lee jumped up, apologzing for having knocked him down, followed by Neji who dusted his pants off in annoyance. Silently he frowned, a sudden thought hitting him. Normally Neji'd be able to resist a Lee-glomp and would _never_ end up on the ground, so why…?

Neji glanced at him, and noticed the look that graced Shikamaru's face. Sighing, he said, "I'm fine, Nara. I'm just tired."

Shikamaru didn't respond, as he was already being pulled away by their friends, who were saying something about going eating. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura approach Neji from the side and stand really close to him, before leaning even closer to speak. He could barely hear what they were saying, and it only fueled his confusion.

"Hey, are you alright? Did you take the vile before you left?"

"Yeah. I think I need a replacement for it, though. It's almost empty."

"Hm…we'll get some later, 'kay?"

No response came from Neji, so Shikamaru could only assume that the older boy had nodded in response instead of a verbal one. Their conversation ended there, just moments before each was stolen by their respective friends.

After that Shikamaru ended up ignoring everyone around him, oblivious to the looks that Neji sent him, the kind of look that you'd send to someone that you wanted to talk to about something important. But because Shikamaru was completely out of it, Neji sighed instead and turned toward Sakura, who was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Shrugging, he motioned in Shikamaru's direction, to which she shrugged back.

A few more minutes of walking to the ramen shop that had been chosen passed by, before Sakura cleared her throat, effectively catching everyone's attention, sans Shikamaru. "Well, I'd love to keep going with you guys, but me'n' Neji's got a place we need to be. We'll see you guys later."

Only when the two were walking away did Shikamaru come to, his eyes narrowing slightly in puzzlement at the retreating backs. Apparently he had missed something.

To his side he heard a laugh, then a gleeful: "Hey. Are they going out or something? Is that why Sakura's been so busy and Neji's not been around much?"

"I don't think so." Shikamaru frowned, his body suddenly tensing. Without turning toward Kiba he spoke again, his palms beginning to sweat slightly under the dog-boy's curious gaze, although he wasn't sure why. "Neji's been…away, and Sakura's been working at the hospital. I think it'd be too troublesome for them to find time to get together."

Kiba merely "hmm"ed in response, sounding entirely unconvinced.

The discomfort he was feeling suddenly multiplying, he muttered something unintelligent underneath his breath before returning his gaze to the curious group before him, who were all staring at him in wonderment. "I'm actually going to head home. I got some things I need to do for Tsunade that I need to finish before she becomes a pain in the ass about them. I'll see you guys later."

As he turned away, a collective groan rose behind him, followed by a loud "what the heck! Why the hell'd they even come if all of 'em are just gonna ditch us?!" which sounded distinctly like Naruto. Without turning around he shrugged and continued on his way, his head tilted downward farther than usual, heart feeling heavier than ever before.

--

When he arrived back at his apartment, Neji wasn't there. Sighing, he closed the door behind him and made his way to the couch where he lay. For some reason Kiba's words bothered him, although he _knew_ nothing was going on between Neji and Sakura.

Or...was there? It wouldn't be _too_ strange, since she - apparently - did come over a lot during Neji's early recovery time, and they could've hit it off then...

Mentally Shikamaru shook his head as he valiantly attempted to figure out _why_ he was so _troubled_ by it, even though he knew - _knew_, dammit! - that they weren't going out and never would.

But then...where was he right now? If he assumed correctly, then Neji'd still be with Sakura doing...whatever it was that they were doing together.

"Damn...why do I even care? It's not true. And even if it was it's none of my business..." Shikamaru muttered to himself as he brought his arm up to cover his eyes. It was...stupid how much he cared, no matter how troublesome it was to do so...

It wasn't until some time later when the door finally opened to reveal his roommate. He couldn't quite say how long it had been - minutes? Hours? - but, for some reason, he was overjoyed to have the older boy back. He didn't show it, of course.

"I'm going to bed; I already ate with Sakura before coming back and I'm going to see her again tomorrow morning." Neji spoke quickly - at least, quick for him - and quietly as he made his way to the back room without giving Shikamaru much time to respond.

Shikamaru "hm"ed in response, mind still occupied by his previous thoughts. Thinking they were done "talking", he closed his eyes and sighed, only to be surprised by Neji's soft voice from the vaccinity of the bedroom.

"We haven't gone on a walk lately, have we? I'd say for us to go tonight, but I'm too tired and will probably end up sleeping through the night. So…I'll see you tomorrow, Nara."

Shikamaru only got up when the door closed quietly behind the other boy, and couldn't resist the urge to send the door a slightly puzzled glance. It was only…what? 3 in the afternoon, and Neji was already going to bed? For the _night_? Something seemed off about that, but since he didn't know what that was, he merely shrugged and got up to fix himself a snack before beginning the work he had claimed he'd do when he left Kiba and the group. Might as well as get it done, since it wouldn't do itself after all.

--

**A/N:** It's like what, a third the size of all the rest of the chapters? XD It just wouldn't make itself any longer. Lol

Be assured that the next one _will_ be back to the usual length, tho'. :)

**Read and review!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Hallo everybody! I hope you're all doing well! This chapter's been typed out on my "new" laptop, which is a yay 'coz that means that I can type more often than before since it'll be more convenient than before! Yay! :)

Anyway. Thank you everyone who reviewed! It makes my day to see my e-mail flooded with "FF Review Alert"s :)

Hmm…this one's actually shorter than the others – again – but I think its contents make up for the length. XDD Quality over length as BrevityofWit said, right? Right?! ::sheepish grin::

---

**An Unexpected Night**

---

_Chapter Eleven_

The next few days passed by just about the same, with Neji going off with Sakura and him staying at home wondering about their relationship, if there even _was_ such a thing. Not once did it truly occur to him to ask Neji about it, which probably was the main cause of his current…situation.

"You okay?"

Shikamaru mentally shook his head, clearing it of the conflicting thoughts he had been having. Nonchalantly he raised an eyebrow as if to say that he had _no_ idea what Neji was talking about, and that the other boy was crazy for even suggesting that something was wrong.

Neji waited a few moments in silence before sighing. "It's not like I really care, Nara. It's just that you're not acting like your usual self."

Shikamaru shrugged. "And you're the expert on how I normally act, I'm sure. Did you keep track of that as well?"

Neji paused, frozen in surprise momentarily that Shikamaru would bring _that_ up, then scoffed. "I've lived with you for some time now, Nara. I should know your routines and whatnot by now."

Shikamaru chuckled softly to himself, making a mental note of the fact that Neji had skillfully dodged his question. He won't hold it against the other boy, of course.

…For now, at least.

Almost immediately after glancing at the clock something strange hit him, causing him to frown. "You're not going with Sakura today?"

Neji shook his head slightly, his attention now returned to the book he had set in his lap beforehand. "She's going to be busy at the hospital until a little later, so we figured that we didn't need to go out today."

'Go out.' Go figure that Neji would choose the very words that suggested a different kind of relationship to everyone else that _wasn't_ apart of their little 'duo'.

"I see…" Shikamaru thought for a few moments, before raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "So what _are_ you going to be doing today, if you're not 'going out' with Sakura?"

"Stay in, probably. It's not too good for my condition to be out and about too much right now."

…What did _that_ mean? Was Neji's condition truly so bad still, and he hadn't been able to see it? Or was there something else going on that he had no idea about?

Mentally shaking his head, Shikamaru sighed and stood away from the stool he had been sitting on. "Well, if you're staying in, I'll be going out. I don't know when I'll be back, so don't bother making lunch or whatever for me."

"Since when did I cook for you?" Neji frowned slightly, his gaze lifting from the page to lock onto Shikamaru's. "Aside from the chuunin exams period and that time last week, I don't think I _ever_ cooked for you, Nara."

Shikamaru blinked, and realized that Neji was telling the truth. So…why did it feel like the other boy had made more meals for him than he really had? Strange. Mentally shrugging, he said a quiet goodbye to Neji and left the apartment, quite unsure about just _where_ he was going. It honestly didn't matter much; just wandering around was good enough.

After a few minutes, a shout from behind caught his attention. Upon turning, he noticed Sakura waving at him from the dango shop booths, and couldn't hold in the raised eyebrow. Wasn't she supposed to at the hospital? Isn't that what Neji said she was doing, and that was why they weren't 'going out' today? Questions running through his mind, Shikamaru made his way to the outdoor booth and slid into the seat across from Sakura, the confusion evident on his face.

Sakura scrunched her brow in confusion as she set her red paste dango onto the plate in front of her. "…What? Is something wrong? You look troubled. Did something happen with Neji?"

"…No." Shikamaru muttered quietly, and unconsciously nodded at the girl who had brought the complimentary tea to him. "It's just, aren't you supposed to be at the hospital? Neji said you were."

Sakura laughed. "Oh, that. Don't tell him, but I lied. I just didn't want him to be out and about too much. He's too determined; I can't have him with me all the time. It's not really good for his health."

…Well. That was as unclear an answer if he's ever heard one.

A few moments of silence, then:

"Are you and Neji going out or something?"

Sakura blinked in surprise, caught off-guard slightly by the suddenness of the question. "What?"

"Are you and Neji going out?"

When the question hit her, she laughed. "Is that what everyone thinks? We're not. At least…I think we're not. I just escort him to and from the hospital every day." Sakura laughed again, this time at the strange expression that had appeared on Shikamaru's face. Grinning, she said slyly, "Are you…jealous?"

Shikamaru scoffed before taking a quick drink of his tea. "Of course not. Why would I be? Nothing's going on, so there's no point to be." Sakura squelched a laugh, causing him to think over what he said. When he did, his eyes widened. Mentally he cursed himself for the bad wording, and glanced off to the side before speaking again. "Damn…I didn't mean for that to sound like it did."

Sakura laughed again, her grin turning sly once more. "Say that again while _looking_ at me, Shikamaru. Your expression from what I can see isn't really all that supportive of your words. Besides, I don't really see a problem with liking Neji. It's not like love really has any boundaries after all."

Shikamaru narrowed his brow, the words that Hiroshi had spoken before at the hospital that time ago suddenly coming to mind. Trivial things…huh? Mentally shaking his head, he stood, a half-grimace in place. "I've already been told that."

"Wait. What do you– I was only–!" Sakura's jaw dropped slightly in shock as she watched Shikamaru stalk off, his cup of tea still half-full. She had only been joking! Shikamaru didn't have to take it so seriously! But…wait. _Why_ had he taken it so seriously? And what did he mean by 'I've already been told that'? Sakura's eyebrows narrowed in thought as she brought her dango up to her mouth and nibbled on it a bit, her mind coming to one conclusion that truly didn't seem all that weird the more she thought about it. What if…what if what she had said was true, even though she hadn't meant it?

--

When Shikamaru arrived back home, he could hear the faint sound of the water for the shower turning off, followed by various rustling sounds which were probably caused from Neji drying off and putting his clothes on. Sighing, he made his way to the couch, his mind racing from the very short conversation he had just had with Sakura not ten minutes before. Why had he…run off? She probably wasn't serious; in fact, he _knew_ she hadn't been serious. She used to do the very same thing to Naruto and Sasuke, then Sasuke and Sai, and even Naruto and Sai a few years back, and she was _never_ serious when she did it. So she probably wasn't being serious now. So why did he act like she _had_ been serious? What she said couldn't have been true…could it?

No. Of course not. It never could be–

"Nara? What're you doing back already?"

Shikamaru turned abruptly, and almost immediately wished he hadn't. His throat constricted, and for all intents and purposes forgot that breathing was an essential part of being alive. His eyes widened slightly, and his mouth fell open just enough for Neji to notice. And when the other boy did, he frowned and stopped what he was doing.

"Oi. Nara. What the hell's wrong with you?" Neji set the towel he had been drying his hair with on the couch back a little harder than he had probably intended, his eyes narrowing some in suspicion. Carelessly he crossed his arms over his bare chest, an eyebrow rising of its own accord when Shikamaru didn't respond in any way. "I asked you a question, Nara. I expect an answer sometime before next year."

The annoyance in Neji's voice brought Shikamaru back to himself, and he mentally shook his head to clear his thoughts. What had he been doing again? Oh, right. He had been sitting there, thinking about what Sakura had said, and then Neji had came up to him–

Shikamaru blinked in surprise when he noticed that his eyes were focused a little too much on a certain someone's chest, which was partially covered by a pair of crossed arms. Hesitantly he brought his gaze up to meet with Neji's, who now looked more amused than anything else. Ignoring the sudden feeling of embarrassment at having been…_distracted_…by a _certain man's_ body, Shikamaru threw himself back down onto the couch cushions and closed his eyes, determined to _not_ think about the _why_ of his staring at Neji's…half-nakedness. "Humor me. What did you say?"

Neji sent him a strange look before sighing. "I asked why you were back here so quickly. I thought you said that you'd be out for a while."

"Oh, that." Shikamaru shrugged, thankful that his eyes were closed so that Neji wouldn't get suspicious when he'd avert them. "I ran into someone who said some things that I wanted to think about, so I just came back."

"Things like what?"

Shikamaru breathed in hard, realizing immediately that he probably _shouldn't_ have told Neji that he had got interested in something, and that he should've known that Neji would ask about it. Quickly he fought for an answer that wasn't the truth, and slowly released the breath he had been holding. "Things that I don't want to face, I guess."

"As if your previous statement wasn't vague enough." Neji spoke sarcastically as he picked up the towel and slung it over one shoulder, before returning to his previous position, including the raised eyebrow. "Seriously, though. What's wrong, Nara? I won't tell anyone, if that's why you're afraid of."

…Afraid? Was that what it was? Was he afraid of what he'd discover if he admitted the problems out loud? After a few moments he sighed again, his eyes opening to lock onto the ceiling. "I guess I am afraid. But…not of you telling or anything troublesome like that. It's more like, I'm afraid of the truth."

"The truth about what? You're absolutely horrible at giving straight answers." Neji frowned in annoyance, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Look. If you don't want to tell me, don't. It's not like it'll hurt my feelings. It's not like I really care."

"You don't, do you?" Sudden anger pulsed through him, bringing him to pull himself up until he was eye level with Neji. "Then what's with the 20 questions, huh? It sure as hell _sounds_ like you care from the way you keep drilling me, Neji."

Neji refused to rise to the bait, and instead turned away with a quiet snort. "You're thinking too much, Nara. Stop jumping to conclusions that satisfy only you."

Shikamaru didn't respond, causing Neji to sigh and walk to the back room. Silently he put the towel away and finished dressing before returning back to the living room. When he entered he just managed to catch Shikamaru's retreating back as the other boy went into the kitchen. Shrugging, he sat on the unoccupied couch, his eyebrows narrowed in thought. Shikamaru had been acting strange when he had left, but that didn't even _compare_ to the way he was acting right now. It was like he learned something that he really didn't want to know about himself, that he had trouble accepting, and had no other way to release his frustration than on small matters, like his quizzing him. And if that were true, was his questioning Shikamaru really that…bothersome? Was the matter really that private, that he couldn't share it with the person he lived with?

Shikamaru returned with a bag of chips in his hand and a couple cans of soda in the other. Silently he sat next to Neji, noticeably leaving a distance between their two bodies, and carelessly held one of the cans out for Neji to take. When he did so, Shikamaru cleared his throat, his eyes focused on some point off in the distance that wasn't in Neji's direction. "I…sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just…being an ass, I guess."

"It's fine. As I said, I don't really care." Neji waved off Shikamaru's apology as he opened the can and brought it up to his lips. After a few seconds he felt the other boy's gaze on him, to which he raised an eyebrow and returned the gaze. "What?"

"Your…clothes. They're your old ones."

"I noticed." Neji replied sarcastically. "Hinata-sama came by and dropped them off early this morning before she had to leave on another mission."

Shikamaru grunted in response, his mind suddenly pushing for a certain question to be asked. Before he fully thought he out, he asked, "Why do you go to the hospital every day, and what's that bottle you got from Sakura for?"

Neji froze, and sent Shikamaru a highly suspicious look. How did he know that he went to the hospital every day? He didn't remember telling the other guy about it…

Mentally shrugging he let it pass, and took a long drink of his soda before replying. "I'm getting physical therapy."

Shikamaru jerked in surprise, completely caught off-guard by Neji's answer. "For what?"

Neji reluctantly decided to respond, since he owed at least that much to Shikamaru seeing as it sort of _did_ involve him. "My body reacts in ways that I don't want; Sakura and I have been working on a way to strengthen my body so I can get control back over it for longer periods of time. The vile is to control the tremors and such that come and go whenever I'm too active. I don't really need it as much as I did before, though."

Shikamaru 'hm'ed in response, his mind tracking back to the time he had found Neji on the kitchen floor with the broken cup and wasted tea bags. So that was why making himself a cup of tea had been so hazardous, because he had been doing more things that day than his body could truly handle? Sighing, he set the bag of chips, which he hadn't touched since bringing them, between him and Neji and stood. Silently he stretched, groaned in pleasure as his back popped, then spoke quietly before heading to the door. "I think I'm going to go finish some work for Tsunade. It'll probably help my mind some to keep busy. So I'll see you later, Neji."

Neji simply nodded as Shikamaru left the apartment for the second time in under an hour, and glanced distastefully at the bag of chips at his side. Shikamaru seemed to be doing better, which was good. But…did that mean that he came to terms with what had been bothering him, or was he planning on using work as an excuse to _not_ think about what was bothering him and to just avoid it altogether? To be honest, he couldn't quite say for certain which he thought it was.

Alone, he could finally admit to himself a certain lie he had told to Shikamaru, and had even told to himself. Just maybe…he really had cared just a bit about what was bothering Shikamaru, and that, for some reason, bothered _him_.

--

**A/N:** XD I normally have something to say after finishing a chapter, but I really don't know _what_ to say this time around. 'Cept maybe that things're getting interesting, and the romance-like stuff will be going at a strange fast-slow pace from now on, 'specially from Shikamaru's POV since that's the one that'll be focused on, mmkay? :)

**Read and review!**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Hi! :) How are y'all doin'? Hope you're doing well! Here's the next installation of _An Unexpected Night_, and is also the last short chapter to come! Of that I am sure. ::grins::

I thank everyone who reviewed! Much love and cookies to you all!

Real quick thing: Um…to uh, respond to Jill Bioskop's reviews. :) Firstly, the…seal-activating itself was yes, initially supposed to kill him but was toned down so-to-speak, so it wouldn't be too much since Neji's still a major part of the village's fighting force-thing. It was activated enough to punish him, but not enough to do _too_ much permanent damage to him. Like, just enough that he'll come out like 95 percent okay. And the main reason for his non-responsiveness is more shock than the actual activation itself, although that did have a part in it. The seal changing color thing is more of a representation of the seal being activated and his removal from the clan more than anything else. And although it wasn't explicitly said, although in retrospect I probably should've said it, Sakura did check up on him every day for an hour or two to see how he was doing and such. Uh…I think that's all. O.o I'm writing this from memory, so if there's anything else, just ask. XD

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**An Unexpected Night**

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_Chapter Twelve_

It was…quiet. Quieter than usual, which actually was pretty strange since it was normally pretty quiet on its own.

Neji sighed as he took a sip of the hot tea he had prepared, his hands mindlessly flipping through the magazine he had found in Shikamaru's room. On top of being quiet, it was unbearably _boring_.

_Why _did the Nara have to leave, again? Oh, right. Mission. Can't ever avoid those.

Sighing again, he closed the magazine and set his cup of tea down on the table next to the couch and stood, his body automatically moving to stretch. It was the first day out of a week that Shikamaru had a mission, meaning that he wouldn't return for another six days. Another six, long, _boring_ days without anyone to talk to in the apartment. But, it wasn't like he was _lonely_ or anything, nor did he truly enjoy the Nara's company any, especially since that awkward time last night when Shikamaru had returned home from 'working' at Tsunade's office…

Nope. He was doing just fine on his own, thankyouverymuch. Now if only he could convince himself of that…

Neji groaned softly in disgust at himself as he made his way to the back so he could take a quick shower. Shikamaru wasn't even _worth_ thinking about right then, _because_ of what happened yesterday. His company wasn't so…'enjoyable' ever since his revelation about whatever it was he had been thinking about. Or was it, not-revelation? Even when Shikamaru had returned home he couldn't tell which one it was. It was confusing, and in all honesty didn't matter. Or at least, it _shouldn't_ matter.

But it did, didn't it? Why was that? Was it because Shikamaru had cared when he had been too messed up to take care of himself properly, and had even cared for him without asking any questions, and that he just wanted to extend his gratitude in the same manner of caring? Or was it something completely different that he hadn't even thought about? Either way he cared about Shikamaru and was…_worried_ about the guy, and that irked him to high heaven and back.

Mentally he shook his head to clear his thoughts and begun running the water for the shower as he slowly peeled off the clothes he hadn't bothered to change out of before going to bed last night. Normally he would take off _at least_ his shirt, but he had been too tired and too bothered by Shikamaru's attitude to really care about such trivialities.

Sighing in annoyance, Neji closed his eyes tight and clenched a fist, his mind silently berating himself for returning his thoughts back to Shikamaru. Didn't he seriously have anything _better _to think about than his roommate? Or was he really that…pathetic, that he really had nothing better to do with the guy gone? Did Shikamaru really have that big of a role in his life now, that he couldn't think straight without the thought of him somewhere in his mind?

That was skirting around certain…things that he really didn't want to ponder, so he quickly stepped into the steaming water in hopes of distracting himself. Hissing slightly at the sudden heat, Neji raised his face to the water and clenched his eyes shut against the onslaught of liquid pouring down on him. His body moving on autopilot, he grabbed the bottle of shampoo when his hair was sufficiently wet and began massaging the soap through it, rinsed, then repeated before doing the same with the bottle of conditioner, sans the repeat. When done with that he quickly soaped the rag that he used to wash himself with, then methodically began to wash himself down before rinsing the rag of any soap that might've still been in it. After letting the water run the suds off his body, he stayed in the water a little longer to savor the feeling of the water pounding down on his back and neck, before he sighed and turned it off.

Carefully he stepped out of the tub and grabbed the first towel his hand touched and proceeded to dry his face off. Almost immediately a scent rose up to greet his nose, making him scrunch up his face and pull the cloth away. Why was it that when his roommate was gone, all of the things he touched had to _haunt_ him and force him to think about the guy? It honestly made no sense to him whatsoever!

Quicker than before he dried off – mood suddenly turning slightly sour because Shikamaru's towel was the only towel that _wasn't_ in the clothes bin waiting to be washed – and dressed; before long he was headed back to the couch to finish his cup of tea and to finish flipping through the magazine he hadn't truly been paying attention to before.

When his cup was drained and his temporary interest in the magazine faltered, Neji stood and set the magazine back on the bookshelf – that action alone normally bothered Shikamaru, but since he wasn't here it didn't matter – and walked to the kitchen where he set the empty cup into the sink. Before leaving the kitchen he poured the remaining tea into a pitcher, mixed some sugar into it, and then put it into the fridge for later. Nonchalantly he glanced at the clock, and deciding that it was as good as any time to leave, and gathered the things he needed before leaving the apartment to head to his normal destination.

Briskly he made his way down the street toward the hospital, walking quickly enough to let anyone who might know him and want to stop him to talk know that he was headed somewhere and that it was probably better to _not_ stop him. In practically no time he arrived at the front doors of the hospital building. Pausing, he let out a breath to calm himself – Sakura wouldn't like it if he arrived breathing heavily, and would probably end up giving him a lecture about taking care of himself better – and stepped into the building when his heart was beating at a normal pace.

Almost immediately the girl sitting behind the desk greeted him, a friendly smile gracing her lips. "Ah, Neji-kun! Back again for more therapy?" At his silent nod, the girl's smile grew a little. "I think Sakura-senpai and Maguro-sensei are free right now, so you probably can get in early if you can find them."

"Thank you, Makiko-san." Neji tilted his head slightly in thanks, and then proceeded to walk farther into the building. Before he managed to reach very far, he spotted the familiar back of a certain pink-haired girl who was walking in the general direction that his physical therapy took place. Not hurrying his steps any, he said a little louder than usual, "Sakura, wait."

Sakura turned upon hearing her name being called and grinned when Neji came into view. "You're early." She commented, her voice taking on a slightly amused tone. "Couldn't stand the quiet?"

Neji snorted in response, his pace matching Sakura's when he caught up to her. "Hardly. I just got bored and figured that getting this done early was better than waiting another hour or so."

Sakura laughed. "Listen to you! Making excuses like that…" Her grin widening, she nudged Neji as they turned the corner heading toward the physical therapy ward. "You never used to do that, Neji. I think a certain someone's rubbing off on you."

Neji merely rubbed the part of his arm that she nudged, and glared at her, his eyes narrowing some in mild annoyance. Frankly, he didn't believe that it was worth it to respond.

Sakura blinked in surprise, and then shrugged, figuring that there really was no need to…tease…the clearly bothered boy anymore than she already had, even though she had only teased him a little bit. Instead she changed the subject as they entered Neji's usual room. "I think Maguro-san's around here somewhere. I'll go find him if you wanna wait a bit."

Neji shrugged, not really caring either way. Silently he watched Sakura sigh at his reaction then walk out of his room before he went and sat in one of the available chairs. He didn't have to wait long before Sakura came back, Maguro-sensei in tow. Like every time before, Neji couldn't help but stare at the slightly aged man and wonder just _what country could spawn such strange-looking people?_ He couldn't even think of a description that would _fit_ the strange-looking man, with his disproportionate facial features, shoulders that looked too wide to fit his body properly, legs that didn't even _remotely_ look like they should be capable of carrying a man of Maguro-sensei's stature…

It was like the guy was made out of all the spare body parts that nobody wanted to have because they were 'ugly' or weren't 'right for them'. Even though his appearance usually ended up making people shy away from him – and if Neji were honest, he'd admit that at first he didn't want to be around the man so much either, although now he was ashamed of that initial thought – his friendly smile and caring eyes tended to bring people back time and time again to see him.

"So, Neji-kun. Sakura here tells me that this will be your first time living on your own, without…" Maguro-sensei glanced down at the file in his hand, then locked eyes with Neji again, a smile in place, "Shikamaru-san, was it? Around. How does it feel?"

"It's fine. Just…quiet."

"And are you okay with this "just quiet"?"

Neji sent him a look before he spoke again. "Didn't I just say I was fine with it?"

"Ah, but you said you were fine with the 'living alone' part. You didn't say anything about the 'just quiet' part."

"I thought it was implied." Neji muttered quietly to himself, not really taking notice of the surprised look that both Sakura and Maguro-sensei sent him at his dark tone of voice.

After he spoke awkwardness entered the room, until Maguro-sensei cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Well then. We'll do the routine check up and assess where you are in your recovery period, and whether you need to keep coming back for further physical therapy or if you'll be fine on your own."

The session then passed by relatively quickly; at least, it felt that way to Neji. Like it had been rushed somehow, although Maguro-sensei had done everything that he had done every session before. Before he knew it the session had ended, and roughly an hour had passed by.

"Well, everything looks like it's going along just fine." Maguro-sensei began as he jotted down some notes in Neji's file, "I think you'll be out of here in about another week, but there's still going to be a few minor complications that may never fully disappear. I'm sorry to have to say this, but you'll probably be permanently reliant on that vile that Sakura here gave you early on. The dose of chakra mixed in with it that had been made that way to help you recover your natural strength can be lessened, though, since your body is starting to return back to normal; or at least as normal as it can become."

Neji simply nodded in response, not bothering to vocalize his frustrations he was feeling toward the state his body was in; the state that his body apparently would remain in for the years to come. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Sakura and Maguro-sensei share a glance, before he sighed. "That's just something that can't be helped, I guess. Now, if there's nothing else…?"

Maguro-sensei shook his head, cuing Neji that it was okay to leave. Saying a quiet goodbye to Maguro-sensei and Sakura, he took the release form that Maguro-sensei gave him to take to the front desk and began walking out of the room. As he walked down the hallway he heard footsteps behind him before a head of pink hair appeared at his side.

"Hey. I'm off just about now. You wanna go grab a bite to eat for lunch?"

Neji shrugged as they reached the front of the hospital, his hand unconsciously moving to set the release form on Makiko's desk. "Don't we always?"

Sakura laughed. "Usually we do, Neji, not always."

--

"So, how have you been doing?" Sakura was quick to ask when they arrived at the little café that they seemed to always eat at whenever they ate out for lunch. "And I don't mean how you feel about what Maguro-sensei told you just now. I mean how you are feeling over all."

Neji sighed; he should've expected something like this to come up. Silently he thought about Sakura's question for a few moments, and then said, "I guess I feel better than before, but…" Neji paused, his eyes trailing along the patterns in the wooden table before he continued on again. "It's just…I don't feel like there's really a purpose for me to be here. The clan was my life; without it, what's left?"

Sakura didn't reply; she knew full well that Neji wasn't actually asking for her to answer that question, and was instead asking himself the question out loud. After a few seconds of silence Neji spoke again, his voice quieter than before.

"Y'know…it's still strange to be living with the Nara, even though it's been over a month since we've been together. Can't say that I'm not grateful to him for being there, though. No matter how much I don't want to say it, his presence is…welcome."

Sakura 'hmm'ed quietly in response, before she sighed. "Y'know…Shikamaru probably wouldn't want me telling you this, but I really think that you should know. _Especially_ if you plan on staying there for a while." She went quiet, and only continued when Neji quirked a curious eyebrow in her direction. Knowing full well that she probably _shouldn't_ have opened this door, and since she couldn't shut it so soon after bringing it up, she continued on. "He asked if we were going out yesterday, and of course I said no. What's weird is that he had even _asked_ the question; normally Shikamaru's the type to not really care any which way about whether or not his friends were dating. That's not even really the weirdest part though. When he had asked the question he had looked really jealous for some reason; I'm not even sure if he himself noticed it. And…" She paused again, her gaze falling to the table in front of them so as to not have to look into Neji's eyes. "As a joke I kinda…teased him about liking you. After saying something about…something that I don't quite remember, he just upped and left."

Neji's eyebrow rose farther as he took a sip of the complimentary tea that had been placed in front of him. "So he had gotten uncomfortable about you teasing him about liking a guy. What's so strange about that?"

"Well, that's not really the strange part. It's just…you've seen him, right? Doesn't he normally try and dispute false things about him a couple times _before_ leaving?" At Neji's silent nod, she continued on. "But this time around he didn't. Instead as he was walking away he looked kind of…troubled; like what I had said was true and not just a joke."

"So, what? Do you think the Nara likes me or something?"

(_This_ was an awkward conversation if he'd ever had one. Why was he being so calm when they were talking about a _guy_ possibly feeling something for _him_? That simply _wasn't_ normal behavior.)

"Mmm…I'm not really sure, honestly. I don't think it really would be _too_ weird for either of you to have a small man-crush on each other since you guys _have_ lived together for just under two months, and have gotten used to each others' presence and mannerisms during that time." Sakura paused, and then brought her gaze up to lock onto Neji's. "Does it…bother you? I mean, this whole talk of Shikamaru maybe liking you's probably gotta be uncomfortable or…disgusting, or something, since you're both guys 'n' all."

Neji didn't respond for a few moments as he tried to gather his thoughts on the matter that had suddenly been thrust into his face, and frowned when only one answer really came to him. "It…doesn't…much, for some reason. I don't really know what to think about it. It's all too sudden and…strange. I've never _been_ in this kind of situation before. With time I can probably get a better answer worked up, but for now I don't have any…_real_…opinion about…this."

--

_One Week Later…_

Shikamaru groaned softly as he arrived at the steps leading to his apartment door, his hand moving to rub his sore back. The mission he had been on had been long and vicious, and he now wanted for nothing else than to take a long soak in the shower to massage his aching, under-used muscles and to make himself a warm cup of tea before heading off to bed to recuperate properly. Just as his hand landed on the doorknob a light from inside caught his attention, causing him to frown slightly in confusion.

Wasn't it like, two in the morning? So why was the light still on? Clearly that meant that Neji was still awake – which was strange. It certainly didn't mean that the older boy had forgotten to turn off the lights since Neji was always the one who made _sure_ the lights were off before they both went to bed…

So why the late-night/early-morning…whatever it was the guy was doing?

Shrugging, he turned the knob and pushed the door open just enough to allow himself in and quietly closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room. Upon turning, his gaze landed on Neji's hunched over position on the floor by the couch, leading him to momentarily believe that he had had another attack before something caught his eye that was located just in front of the other boy. Although he hadn't seen it in quite a while, he could easily recognize it from anywhere; there was no way he'd _ever_ forget the shogi board that Asuma had given him for his thirteenth birthday.

So that meant that Neji had been snooping around while he had been gone, since even _he_ hadn't known where he had stored it after Asuma's death. Heck, he hadn't even known that it was even in his apartment! As far as he knew, he had left it at home in his old room; apparently that was wrong, or his mother had brought it over and left it. But…why? Why would she­­­­­­—

No. That's _not_ what he was supposed to be focusing on. What he was _supposed_ to be focusing on was _why Neji was still up, and why hadn't he reacted to his presence yet?_ He had been standing there for a couple minutes already, and Neji had yet to make any sign that he had even noticed him coming in, which was highly strange for Neji to _not_ do. Normally the older boy would glance at him, or welcome him back with a silent nod, or even sometimes a quiet "Nara" would pass through his lips. But this time it seemed like Neji was too much into the shogi game he was playing against himself to really notice anything else.

And besides that, something just seemed…_off_ about Neji that he couldn't quite put his finger on. What had happened while he had been gone? Why did it feel like Neji was specifically _not_ acknowledging his presence because he didn't want to, and why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like—

"Nara."

Shikamaru blinked in surprise when Neji quietly spoke his name, then returned his gaze from the floor where it had ended up to Neji's form. Neji hadn't turned around when he had spoken, but – to Shikamaru's relief – he at least had noticed him and had greeted him in some way. "Hm?"

"Wanna play?"

It took Shikamaru a few moments to respond, mostly because of surprise. Shrugging he set the bag he took with him on his mission on the floor, slipped off his sandals, then walked over to the opposite side Neji was on and sat down. "Sure."

The game started silently, which, he supposed, really wasn't all that strange considering who was playing. But what he was tempted to ask, which he knew he wouldn't, was why Neji _wasn't looking at him_, and why he was staring so intently at the shogi board like his life depended on it. So, for some reason Neji was avoiding him but not at the same time.

Wait. Wasn't this backward? Wasn't _he_ the one who had made everything feel all awkward like this just last week, and not Neji? So why the switch? Maybe the reason Neji was 'avoiding' him was similar to the reason why Shikamaru himself had been acting, which could possibly mean that Neji—

No. He had promised himself that he wouldn't cross that line; that he wouldn't even _think_ of that possibility. But…that was back when it appeared to have only been _his_ problem; if he was right, it seemed like now it was Neji's problem as well…

Then again it could be something completely unrelated and he was just trying to make himself feel better for having to block those…thoughts…from his mind that he didn't want to dwell on.

"Nara. It's your move."

Shikamaru mentally shook his head and refocused on the game in front of him. Guessing wouldn't get him any closer to the truth, so he might as well as enjoy this shogi game with his roommate while he still could; for all he knew things might be changing in the future that he – consciously and subconsciously – didn't want to change.

--

**A/N:** Annnd…that's the end of the twelfth chapter! Six more to go, plus an epilogue! :)

I'm going to try and finish this by…sometime in January, since after that 'sometime in January' I might not be able to write for like, 2 months for that surgery I had said I was going to - maybe - have sometime in December. So hopefully the school semester end won't interrupt with that plan!

**Read and review!**


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